


Voltron Gems

by CircusTalia



Series: Voltron Gem AU [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon), Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crystal Gems (Steven Universe), Alternate Universe - Steven Universe Fusion, F/M, Fusions, I'm just writing what I can't draw, M/M, Multi, Self-Indulgent, Shapeshifting, Size Difference, There's a plot somewhere, gem au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2018-12-12 17:47:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 66,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11742054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CircusTalia/pseuds/CircusTalia
Summary: Voltron: the most powerful and the most rare fusion in the universe. Voltron can be made up of any type of gems, which makes it all the more difficult for them to come out. This is a series of stories in which the paladins are re-imagined as gems.





	1. Pidge's Search

**Author's Note:**

> So, I don't know for sure how I want to do this. My initial plan was to make this a series of drabbles, but the more I thought about it, the more I envisioned a storyline to this. At the moment, I don't expect to write this as a linear, cohesive narrative. But if it goes in that direction, then hopefully it will be engaging for everyone. I mainly wanted to do this out of fun, so forgive me if this is a wonky fic. Also, while I do have some ships in mind for this, I'd rather wait out on tagging as such especially since anything can change. Plus, I think it would be more fun if other people took part in this AU with me and have anyone that wants to participate to incorporate their own ships. As another warning, there will be fusions in this AU and not every fusion will be smooth. This isn't meant as me having preferential treatment of one ship over another. I created these fusions with the personalities and how well the characters get along in mind. With all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy my Voltron Gem AU.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge looks for clues to finding her missing family from the Kerberos mission. Then, an unexpected gem falls from the sky.

Pidge gathered her things and snuck out of the hut. She retreated to the fields, where her pod was waiting. When she got there, she pulled out her gadgets, including a satellite that kept pointing upward. She typed away on her laptop, hoping to find the same signals she picked up the previous night. That was the first sign she had received of her brother and father being out there. Well, technically, they weren’t her biological father and brother. Pidge and Matt had emerged from the same kindergarten and were picked up by a childless couple, Samuel and Colleen Holt. It was a common practice for human families to take in gems as their own and Pidge was happy to have been a part of the Holt’s lives. Even happier to have Matt as her brother. As much as her and her brother made the effort to be human, Samuel did his part in getting to know gem culture. Her father was a human that got to go on missions to the moon bases with gems. Matt had gotten his approval to accompany their father on the mission to Kerberos. When they never returned, Pidge had a feeling something was wrong. Colleen knew of Pidge’s search, and although Colleen didn’t want to be alone, she reluctantly agreed to let her little peridot go out and find their family.

Pidge couldn’t accept that no one on the Kerberos base didn’t know of her father and brother’s whereabouts. The ship they got on was one of the more outstanding ships, there was no way it could have gone undetected. All she needed was that lead again and then she’d hop aboard her pod and go after them.

 

“What are you doing out here?” the lapis lazuli Lance whispered into Pidge’s ear, causing her to jump and scream. Hunk was there, too, and her teammates looked down at her.

“Nothing,” she tried to lie. “Just, uh, out for a stroll and stuff. Why are you two out here?”

“We were looking for you and saw you head out into this field,” Lance answered.

“What is this stuff anyway?” Hunk asked as he poked the wires coming out of the pod.

Pidge slapped the amber's hand. “Don’t touch,” she said. Hunk pulled his hand away as he rubbed his fingers.

“You didn’t answer his question,” Lance pointed out. “What is all this? Why do you have a pod out here?”

“It’s for...research. Yeah, research,” Pidge answered.

“But you just said you were out for a stroll,” Hunk brought up.

“Yeah, and I thought I’d check up on my research equipment out here while I was at it,” Pidge lied. “Did you guys forget that I was assigned to study the landscape of this area?”

Lance crossed his arms. “Not buying it.”

Pidge sighed. “Fine. This stuff is for picking up signals from outer space.”

“So? We have a radio back at the hut and at the facility.”

“It’s not for communicating,” Pidge admitted. “Look, I’m just trying to listen in for clues to my next destination. I’m on a very important mission and I can’t stay here on Earth with my objective out there. I think what I’m looking for is tied to the Galra.”

“The Galra?” Hunk asked. “Us Earth gems haven’t had contact with them in eons. They aren’t established anywhere near this side of the universe. What business would they have with our side? Better yet, what business could you have with them?”

Pidge shifted her gaze from them. “I don’t know. But I think they might have what I’m looking for. The only way I can find out is if I go out there and see for myself.”

“So, you were gonna leave us without saying goodbye then?” Lance asked. “I thought we were a team.”

Pidge closed her eyes. “We were assigned to work together. That doesn’t make us anything more.”

“Pidge…”

 

Just then, her satellite vibrated and the readings on her computer were going crazy. All three of them looked at the screen.

“What’s that?” Hunk asked.

“I don’t know,” Pidge answered. “But according to my computer, it says that whatever it is is headed straight for us.”

They looked up at the sky to see a ball of light making its way towards them.

“AH, IT’S A SHOOTING STAR!” Lance screamed.

“NO, IT’S A COMET!” Hunk argued.

Pidge took out her binoculars. “Actually, it’s….A POD?!”

The pod became more visible and crashed several feet away from where the trio was at. All of them ran up to the pod, pushing against the wheats that were in the way. When they got there, smoke was coming out of the black pod. It opened up, revealing a man with a scar across his nose and a white fringe.

“Oh no, is he okay?” Hunk asked.

Lance went over and tried to pick him up, the man’s hair moving away to reveal a black star diopside on his forehead. There was a sudden realization as to who this gem was.

“Shiro….,” Pidge said softly, not believing that this was the same black star diopside that was friends with her brother. Although she only saw Shiro a handful of times prior to the departure to the Kerberos base, there was no doubt that this gem was him. She found it odd that his regeneration was different, but that wasn’t important. He more than likely knew where Matt and her father were, which meant she had to stay on Earth a little longer to get answers from him.

Before anyone could move him, rustles came from inside the field.


	2. Earth Left Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Shiro back, everyone wonders where he's been and how he looks the way he does.

Out from the field emerged a red spinel, who wore an overlay atop a loose shirt. He had come out with fists in the air, his gem on the backside of his right hand. Lance sneered at him in contempt.

“Nope, no, no, you don’t; you’re not getting the glory of finding Shiro.”

“Uh…,” Keith lowered his fists, “do I know you?”

“It’s Lance,” Lance blinked. “You know? The lapis lazuli from the Galaxy Unit at the Garrison?”

“I’m sorry, were you a part of the flight terraformers?”

“No, I was in the combat regiment like you. We’re sworn enemies, remember?”

“Uh, guys, can we play catch up later?” Hunk said as he pointed to the pod. From within, the black star diopside shook his head, moaning and slowly recuperating. Keith dashed to the pod, placing his hand on Shiro’s shoulder.

“Shiro?” Keith opened his mouth as he noticed the robotic right arm. Before he could let that sink in, Shiro shot up, glaringly staring at the gems surrounding him.

“Who are you?! Where am I?! Tell me, now!” Shiro demanded.

Keith flinched, backing away while lifting his hands slowly.

“Shiro, it’s me, Keith,” he said.

“You know Shiro?” Hunk questioned.

Keith didn’t answer Hunk directly, instead opting on continuing to approach Shiro. “I’m your friend. We worked together before you were sent to Kerberos, remember?”

“Oh yeah, when I expect you to remember me, you have no idea who I am, but when it's Shiro, you expect him to remember,” Lance complained.

Shiro fainted, Hunk moving ahead and catching him before he fell. Hunk put Shiro over his shoulder.

“Now what?” Hunk asked. “Should we take him to the facility?”

Keith shook his head. “Don’t bother. The facility has never been known for their diplomatic approach to these type of situations. We can take him to my place.”

 

The gang were inside an old, creaky home with a windmill out front. It was located behind the field. Inside, Shiro had been laid down on a couch, a blanket over him, with everyone staring. Pidge scanned his arm before turning her attention to the others.

“The good news is that he’s not corrupted,” Pidge said. “The strange news is that this arm doesn’t seem to be a part of him whatsoever.”

“So, Shiro has a limb enhancer?” Hunk suggested.

“Nah, he’s never had one before,” Keith clarified. “He came out with both arms. So, it’s strange to see him like this.”

“Hey, isn’t it also kind of weird that a gem would have a scar?” Lance pointed out. “How can a gem have a scar if we can just regenerate to a better form?”

“I don’t know,” Keith said. “I’m just glad his gem isn’t broken. Or worse.”

Shiro slowly opened his eyes. The first person to come into view was Pidge.

“Matt?”

Pidge bit her tongue. Everyone raised an eyebrow. She shook her head.

“No, you’re mistaken,” she revealed. “I’m...Pidge.”

Shiro sat up and squinted his eyes.

“Oh, right." He pressed his fingers on his forehead, a few inches away from his gem. "Wait, but how can you be here when I was on a Galra ship?” Shiro looked around and noticed he was in a living room setting with three other gems looking at him. He lifted the blanket from himself and widened his eyes when he saw Keith.

“Keith?”

Keith smiled. “Yeah, it’s me. You’re on Earth.”

Shiro was left breathless. The wooden floor, the breaking of dawn, and these group of different gems together, side by side, was a sight he never thought he’d see again. He chuckled out of happiness for being back.

“Wow,” he said softly.

“Do you have Matt’s gem on you?” Pidge questioned. “Did Samuel send you here?”

“Pidge, please, let the guy breathe,” Hunk said.

Shiro’s smile went down. “I’m sorry. I have no idea where they are.”

Pidge shook her head. “That can’t be. You have to know!”

“Pidge!” Lance scolded.

“Are you feeling okay?” Keith followed up.

Shiro opened and closed his right hand. “I’ve been better. But I’ve also been worse. I appreciate you taking care of me.” He put a hand over his gem. “Although, I don’t really remember a lot prior to landing.” He looked up at Hunk and Lance. “I don’t mean to offend, but have we met before?”

Lance tilted his head. “Sadly, no. I wish we did. I'm Lance, by the way," he motioned to Hunk, "and this amber is Hunk. But how the heck do you know Pidge?”

Before Shiro could answer, Pidge answered for him.

“He worked with my brother and father.”

“Brother and father?” Shiro looked confused. “But, you’re a gem.”

“Not my biological brother and dad,” Pidge made clear, rolling her eyes. “Another Peridot and I were adopted by a human couple. And you worked alongside Matt and my dad. How could you not remember that?” She shook her head. “But more importantly, why aren’t they with you?”

Shiro got up. “I don’t know. My memory’s a little fuzzy. I remember we were headed to the Kerberos base and getting captured by Galra gems. Anything after that I’m not entirely sure.” He sighed. “Actually, truth be told, I don’t remember a whole lot about Earth either.”

Keith widened his eyes. "You're serious?"

Shiro nodded.

"Then, what do you remember?"

"I remember being captured, being sent to fight," he looked down on his robotic arm, "losing my arm, and then...I don't know from there."

Pidge walked over to the side of the room and rolled over a large, circular plate. 

"Then, you have no idea what this is then?"

Shiro took a closer look at the object. It had a reflective surface, with markings surrounding it.

"That looks like a teledove," he pointed out.

"There must have been a reason for that," Hunk said. "Although, do we even know if this thing works?"

Keith stepped on top of it. "Only one way to find out."

"Wait, I didn't mean we should actually use it," Hunk clarified. "Shiro just woke up. What if we get teleported to dangerous terrain or to the middle of an ocean?"

"That would suck for you guys," Lance smugly said, lifting his right leg up to show off his gem. "I'd be right at home."

"You do know we have suits, right?" Pidge said.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't need one."

Everyone looked at Lance disapprovingly. 

"Point being," Hunk continued, "I don't think we should be using this. For all we know, we could get transported to a Galra ship and we don't need to start another war with them."

"Well I say we should," Pidge spoke up. "This could lead us to finding the other two Kerberos' victims. Maybe they helped Shiro get away."

"I don't know how likely that would be," Keith said, "but I do think we should still see where this teledove takes us. It may help us understand why Shiro was taken. What the Galra would want with an Earth gem."

"Or, you know, and this is just a thought," Lance shrugged his shoulders, "we could always stay here and be grateful that Shiro came back mostly unharmed. We shouldn't get involved with something that could put everyone in danger!"

"And how exactly are we supposed to explain where Shiro's been all this time?" Keith furrowed his brows. "We should see where this takes us."

"No, we are not going anywhere. We're staying right here where we know it's safe!" Lance glanced at Pidge. "We don't need to disappear without saying goodbye to anyone."

Pidge gritted her teeth. "Nu-uh! We have to go!"

Lance and Hunk glared down at Keith and Pidge, who were just as equally glaring back at them. Shiro got up from the couch.

"Enough!" Everyone turned to him. "We shouldn't be fighting. We're not each other's enemies here."

Lance relaxed his shoulders. "Then, you decide. What should we do?" 

The young gems looked to the older gem for his response. Shiro could feel himself freezing up. He thought about it. Should he stay, he wouldn't be able to explain himself properly. He didn't know how the Garrison would react to him. However, using that teledove could mean going back to where he was imprisoned, and worse yet, dragging these innocent gems down with him. He would have offered to go alone, but then he knew Keith and Pidge would undoubtedly want to tag along, albeit for different reasons. But something in his mind was telling him that they should all go. It felt like they had to leave. 

"We should go," Shiro answered. "This teledove may lead us to the answers we seek." He looked at Hunk and Lance sympathetically. "And we can always come back if something goes wrong."

Lance and Hunk eyed one another before nodding. They all gathered items that might be needed for the trip. None of them knew how long they would be gone for or where they were headed. But there was a lingering feeling in all of their guts that they may not return to Earth anytime soon. The five gems stepped foot on the teledove where they were teleported to a planet far, far away from home.


	3. Alteans Meet Earth Gems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Earth gems come across a mysterious castle and find the inhabitants inside cryogenic pods. Unbeknownst to them is that a bloodthirsty amethyst is on their way to the castle's location to destroy them.

Aboard a purple arm ship was the domain of Zarkon Diamond, who was seated atop his own personal throne. His diamond was placed on his forehead, his figure loomed over the throne room. Just then, a witch came before Zarkon Diamond's audience, although her gem was nowhere to be visibly found.

"My Diamond," the witch saluted, "I have sensed a teledove to the Altean castle has been activated."

"How can that be?" Zarkon Diamond questioned. "We haven't been able to find that castle since-" he stopped in his tracks. He tilted his head forward. "Where is this castle?"

The witch stepped forward. "According to my senses, the castle is on the planet Arus."

Zarkon Diamond pulled up a hologram of coordinates. After some navigation, he finally found it as it lay beyond a purple line on the map. He zoomed in on the Arus planet before getting a clearer picture of it.

"This planet is not within our star maps," he noted. "But that's about to change." He looked down at the witch. "Haggar, which of your experiments is closest to this planet?"

"That would be the amethyst Sendak, my Diamond," Haggar answered. "He is one of the more successful experiments I have ever created."

"Then he shall be the one we send." He turned his attention to a pearl that was on standby. "Pearl, open the communication line to Sendak's ship. I have a mission for him."

"Yes, my Diamond," the pearl answered.

 

Inside an ordinary hand ship, Sendak, a tall, furry, and buff amethyst with his gem located on his right eye and possessing a robotic arm, entered the control room as the ship received a call.

"Sendak," a tanzanite reported, "we are receiving a call from the Diamond line."

"Put them on," the amethyst approved. 

Up on the screen was Zarkon Diamond, whom Haxus and Sendak gave their criss-crossed salute to.

"My Diamond," Sendak said.

"Sendak, you are to go to Arus and establish a kindergarten site immediately."

"Of course, my Diamond."

"And one more thing."

"Yes, my Diamond?"

"There will be a castle on that planet. Before you begin the harvest, destroy that castle on sight."

"Very well, my Diamond."

The screen turned off. Sendak grinned. 

"Looks like we're going to have ourselves a little fun. Wouldn't you agree, Haxus?"

Haxus looked back at Sendak with an equally wicked grin. "I would."

* * *

The five Earth gems found themselves inside an unfamiliar room. It was dark, barely any light illuminating through.

"I can't see a thing," Lance commented.

"Hold up," Pidge raised her left hand, a bright light coming out of her gem that was on the backside of it. Pidge walked ahead of the group, with everything her gem hitting revealing a door that wasn't far from them. When they went through, there was a switch on the wall outside. Hunk flipped the switch where everything started to light up. Pidge put her hand down, turning off her personal flashlight. Everyone stared at their surroundings in awe, amazed to find themselves in the middle of a large hall, one that resembled a palace hall. There was a large flight of stairs that lead to a floor that had its own balconies. 

"Stay close," Shiro said as everyone ventured upstairs.

When they reached the top floor, they crossed a hall that had huge doors at the end. The group walked towards it, opening it up ever so slowly. Inside was a room that was covered in pods. Keith's fingertips touched one of the pods. 

"What are these?" 

Hunk touched a pod as well. "These feel cold. Maybe they're refrigerators?"

Lance noticed a shadow within one of them, a twinkling blue coming from atop the figure. He wiped the surface up to see what it was. Once he did, the pod before him and the one next to it opened up.

 

 

As Allura woke up from her cryogenic pod, she had been met with a young man with hideous ears. She saw others with just as hideous ears as that one. But then she realized that these weren’t ordinary aliens. These were gems. She and Coran went on the defensive.

“What are gems doing inside my castle?!” Allura screamed.

Keith raised his arms. “Calm down. We mean you no harm.”

“You must be joking?”

Coran got a closer look at their gem placements.

“Wait, Princess, I think they’re telling the truth. Look.” He pointed at their gems. “They don’t have the Galra markings.”

Allura noticed their lack of markings. She also noticed that the gems didn’t have the same animal features as the Galra.

“So, you’re not Galra gems?” she asked.

“No, we are not,” Shiro answered. “We haven’t been in contact with Galra for over ten millennia. Aside from when they kidnapped me.”

“Oh, I get it now,” Allura said. “You five were part of the gem society that fled to the other side of the universe.”

Allura had never met the gems that were a part of the rebellion. She had only heard bits and pieces of the gem war from her father.

“Where are you from, then?” she asked.

“We come from the planet Earth,” Shiro explained. “For some reason, we found ourselves transported here, in this castle.”

Coran twiddled with his mustache. “Hm...how very odd. I never thought I’d meet gems that were part of the rebellion.”

Pidge, Keith, Lance, and Hunk looked at Coran in confusion.

“Um, we weren’t a part of the rebellion,” Pidge said.

“Yeah, we were made after the war,” Hunk continued. “So we only know about the rebellion from the history data we had to study.”

“Did you by any chance take part in the war?” Keith asked.

Allura shook her head. “No, and I’m ashamed to admit that Altea hadn’t helped the rebels in any way.”

“Altea?” Lance asked.

“You don’t know about it?” The four of them shook their heads.

"Sorry, but the history that’s taught doesn’t include information on other alien species,” Shiro said. “Especially not ones from the side of the universe we aren’t allowed to trek on.”

“I understand,” Allura said solemnly. “Wait, then does that mean your society also takes away planets’ life forces?!”

“Woah, easy there,” Lance said, ushering his hands up and down. “We haven’t taken the life force of a planet in who knows how long. Although recently, we’ve found better ways to make more gems.” He put his hand atop Pidge’s head. “They’re just not as special as the rest of us.” He quickly glanced at Keith. “Most of us.”

Pidge growled before shoving Lance’s hand off of her.

Coran took a closer look at Pidge. “Yes, I do recall that peridots are supposed to be a lot taller. I never thought gems could be made without depleting a planet’s life.”

“I am not a zoo animal!” Pidge snapped.

“And this peridot is much more emotional than other peridots I’ve come across.”

“Can we get back to figuring out what’s going on?” Keith asked. He looked guiltily at Allura. “Did the Galra deplete your planet’s life?”

Allura nodded.

“That explains why you were angry with us when you saw our gems. We had no idea-”

“It’s not your fault,” Allura said. “It was the Galra gems who destroyed Altea. And my father.” She sighed. "But I must ask how you got to this castle."

"We came here through teledove," Hunk answered. "We had no idea it would take us here."

"Teledove? That's impossible. My father made sure to get rid of all the teledoves the gems possessed." Allura pondered for a moment. If her father could have sent her, Coran, and the castle to another planet that wasn't within the Galra's reach, then perhaps it was possible for him to have saved a single teledove. But she couldn't understand why he would unlesss....She touched her forehead to feel a piece of the shard that was given to her long ago. "Follow me!"

 

 

Allura and Coran led the gems to a meeting room. Allura stood in the center.

“I heard that fusing with different gem types was a common practice among rebel gems. But have any of you ever witnessed the Voltron fusion?”

“What’s a Voltron?” Lance asked.

“We haven’t, Princess,” Shiro said. “Voltron hasn’t come out in who knows how long.”

“Um, isn’t anyone going to answer my question?”

Allura pulled up an image of a massive gem. The size of this gem looked as if it could be on equal standing against a diamond.

“My father used to tell me about the Voltron fusion. A combination of different gems that come together and whose purpose is to defend the universe. I believe the reason you five were brought here was so that you could fuse and form Voltron!”

“Is it because we meet the gems needed to form it?” Pidge asked.

Allura shook her head. “Voltron doesn’t come out with a specific combination. It’s what makes the fusion so unique. Voltron needs gems that are worthy of being a part of the universe’s savior.”

“And what makes you think that we’re those gems?” Hunk asked.

“Well, you must be. Foreign gems that have returned to the other side of the universe. That must be a sign. You were meant to end the Galra Empire.”

“Wait, hold up,” Lance said. “You can’t possibly think that. As flattered as I am that you consider me a hero, I think some of us aren’t cut out for this job. Especially Keith.”

Keith shot an angry look at Lance. “Say whatever makes you feel better, but it’s worth a shot to try fusing.”

“Yeah, like I’d ever fuse with you.”

“We have to if we want to protect the universe.”

“No, what we should do is go back home! We shouldn't get involve with any of this. We have a teledove right here in this castle, so we should all leave before the Galra find us!”

"And leave behind the ones that have been undoubtedly captured by them? I don't think so," Pidge remarked.

Hunk rested a hand on her shoulder. "Pidge, we're not trying to leave anyone behind. But we can't end up missing either."

"We shouldn't be cowards!" Keith hissed.

"Everyone, relax," Shiro said. 

There was a rumbling on the ground. Everyone ran out of the room and looked out the nearest window. Outside was a Galra ship.


	4. Voltron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Earth gems do what they can to protect the castle from a Galra enemy. Amidst the heat of battle, they come together in a way they never thought possible.

Everyone ran outside to see a ship landing outside of the castle. A fingertip laid down, and out from it emerged Sendak and Haxus.

"This is the castle our Diamond wants destroyed?" the amethyst questioned. "I can certainly see why."

"It looks quite tacky, doesn't it, Commander?" the tanzite asked in return.

"Yes, it does," Sendak squinted down at the group. "And what's this? A couple of putrid lifeforms and some unpolished gems?"

"Who're you calling unpolished?!" Lance screamed out, before being held back by Hunk.

"Heh, I don't have time for the likes of you," Sendak turned his attention to Shiro, noticing the prosthetic arm and scar on his face. He approached the black diopside, growling lowly. "Where did you get that?" He pointed to the arm.

Shiro opened and closed his robotic arm. "This? Why do you want to know?"

Sendak scoffed. "I don't know how a gem like you ended up with technology like that," he showed off his own robotic arm, "but no matter. It won't be a challenge for me. Come, Haxus. Let's get rid of this castle quickly so that we may add another colony to our systems."

They turned around to head inside, only for Keith to summon his sword and lunge himself at them. 

"You're not gonna hurt this planet or this castle!" Keith shouted.

His sword didn't touch them as Haxus roundhouse-kicked Keith to ground. Shiro grabbed Keith, making sure that he was alright.

"What a waste of a spinel," Haxus said as he returned to Sendak's side and boarded the ship. The ship rose from the ground and shot a laser at the base of the castle. Smoke came out of the targeted blast, a clear damage to the castle being visible. 

"Princess, Coran, you two get inside," Shiro advised. "We'll handle these guys!"

Coran grabbed Allura's hand. "Come, Allura!" The two ran inside. 

"How are we gonna beat these guys?" Pidge asked, looking up at the ship in confusion.

"I don't know, but we have to try!" Shiro summoned mettalic wings behind his back as flew up to try and beat down the ship.

Everyone else joined in, doing what they could to take it down. Keith used his sword again, although this time he tried throwing it from where he was. Lance summoned a sniper and aimed at the fingertips, but to no avail. Hunk enlarged his hand to protect the castle from further fired missiles, although he had a hard time keeping his concentration on his shapeshifting. Pidge raised her arms and attempted to remove any metal within the ship, but it was of no use.  

The Earth gems did all they could to protect the castle, and by extension, to protect Allura and Coran who were still inside. Unfortunately, their attacks couldn’t even lay a scratch on the ship. Everyone was feeling beat down. They were panting, looking up at the ship that was ready to fire an even bigger attack.

“Looks like this is the end,” Hunk said.

“We may have lost, but it was an honor to fight alongside you guys,” Keith admitted.

Shiro’s body tensed up. He lifted his right arm, which glowed.

“No, we can’t give up,” Shiro said. “We have to defeat these Galra gems. It’s more than just the princess and Coran. We have to show the Galra that their reign of tyranny is over.” He took his stance. “Let’s show these guys what we’re made of!”

Everyone perked up.

“Yeah!” they responded.

All of them got into a formation, but when they did, their gems started to glow. The four younger ones looked down at their gems and back at each other. Their bodies turned into beams of light. The beams connected to one another, shifting and forming into one figure. The figure that came out of the light was a large person with wild hair. Bent over, they had four arms hanging. They slowly opened their four golden eyes and took a good look at their grey skin (aside from the one fake arm).

“What in the…?” they asked. They looked at their legs, hovering their hands over different parts of their body. “What...am I?”

Allura and Coran saw the fusion from the screens. They had almost lost hope in their return. They weren’t the same as back then, but they came back nonetheless.

The new fusion turned their attention to the ship. They squinted their eyes.

“That’s a lot of ships, but I think I can take them down, even if I’m not entirely sure what I am,” the fusion bent their arms and a pair of steel wings appeared behind them, helping them to fly into the air.

As the ship was ready to fire, they grabbed a hold of it and threw it across.

“Woah,” they said. “This feels great!”

The ship regained momentum, this time firing at the fusion. The fusion clutched their hands into it. 

“You’re not going to hurt them,” they kept punching the hand, bending it out of shape. As they did so, they turned their head to the castle. "Hey, are you guys alright?”

Inside, Allura grabbed a microphone and turned the loudspeakers outside on.

“We’re fine, but what about you? Do you know who you are?”

The fusion let go of the ship, knowing that it would need a few moments to regain power.

“Hm...I don’t feel like a specific gem. But I am one. There is only one name I’m certain of,” the fusion summoned a shield and protected the castle from incoming missiles. “I am VOLTRON!” They summoned a katana and sliced up the forefinger of the ship. They flew around the hand, their wings leaving behind marks that caused the ships to split into pieces. They then turned the katana into a canon and blasted fire at the pieces of the ship, making those pieces fly across different parts of the land. The fusion grinned. 

 

After the battle, Voltron landed themselves back to the base where the castle was set. Allura and Coran were outside, waiting for them, their faces overridden with joy. They didn’t realize how small the Alteans were compared to them.

“I knew you could do it!” Allura exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

Voltron knelt down on one knee. They cocked their head to the side.

“Am I the one you were waiting for?” Voltron asked.

“You’re more than what we were anticipating,” Coran said. “I had forgotten how huge you were.”

“Were?" They perked their head up. "You’ve met me before?”

“Well, maybe not you specifically, but we’ve seen a Voltron fusion before. And now you’re back.”

“Back…,” before Voltron could finish their thought, they felt their mind slipping apart. “Wait, I have so many questions. I-” Voltron broke apart into separate gems. Keith, Lance, Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge all fell down harshly, screaming as they dropped.

They looked at one another and back down at their bodies. Pidge opened and closed her fist before turning her arm over. She put her hand through her hair. Keith helped Shiro up while Lance and Hunk got up by themselves.

“Sorry we couldn’t hold Voltron much longer,” Shiro apologized. “I have to say, there hasn’t been a fusion that’s taken a lot out of me like this one.”

Allura smiled at him sympathetically. “Voltron isn’t easy to maintain for long periods of time. Still, I’m proud that you five were able to last this long.”

Lance gave a light moan. “Yeah, I know I’m impressive.”

Everyone silently shook their heads before looking up at the sky.

“I think the universe is ready to meet Voltron,” Shiro remarked as everyone silently agreed with him.

* * *

Somewhere in the outskirts of the desolate part of the universe on a remote planet laid a palanquin that had three gems standing on its steps. Or rather, half gems on the steps. These were the generals under the direct authority of another diamond. 

"What's taking so long? Narti should have been here earlier!" called out a jasper hybrid whose gem was directly underneath her right eye.

"She's probably just running late, Zethrid," commented a ruby hybrid with long hair tied to a ponytail as she rolled her eyes, "she probably had to feed her kitty cat." 

Suddenly, someone was flung to the steps of the palanquin, though it did not seem to phase any of the gems that were in attendance. They looked to see an eyeless sapphire hybrid under a hood, her tail sticking out and a cat on her shoulders, walking towards them.

"If you needed a host, you could have asked and we would have brought out a prisoner," commented the blue spinel hybrid.

The sapphire merely shrugged as she placed her hand on the caught captive, the cat jumping off, curling itself at Zethrid's feet. The captive's eyes immediately glowed. 

"You called, my Diamond?" the captive asked.

From behind a sheet atop the palanquin spoke a male voice. 

"Narti, tell me, what do you see?" the voice asked. "How much longer will Zarkon Diamond keep me out here?"

"It does not look much longer, my Diamond," the captive answered. "Within a year's time, Zarkon Diamond will be engaged in a great battle. He shall lose, his physical form vanquished, and the witch, Haggar, shall summon you to the royal court."

"What's so great about this battle Zarkon is to engage in?" the ruby placed her hands behind her head, the gem on her navel having a light shining across it.

"Yes, I would like to know as well," the hidden diamond said in a curious tone.

"Zarkon Diamond shall be up against a fusion," the captive explained. "But it will not be of a fusion of a single gem type."

"So he'll be up against rebels," Zethrid made a smug expression on her face as she crouched down to pet the cat. 

"Not just any rebels," the captive continued. "It will be a fusion that has rarely been seen, even among those that go against the Galra Empire. I foresee this fusion being Voltron."

"Voltron?" the blue spinel moved her head, her short hair strands swaying. "How can that be? We've encountered a number of multi-gem fusions, but not one has ever created Voltron."

"It does seem strange," the diamond spoke. "And it can pose a threat to us once we return. Acxa, I want you to venture out to the planets that are within the Galra Empire's control and report all relevant information you have about what forms this Voltron."

"My Diamond, would it not be better if Ezor snuck in instead?" Acxa asked. 

"Yeah," Ezor agreed. "I can make myself invisible," she pointed at herself.

"While Ezor's camouflaging skills are great, I still need her for her own missions," the diamond made clear. "Your task shouldn't be difficult. It's a simple watch and report mission. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Very well, my Diamond," Acxa saluted. As she turned, her diamond spoke up again.

"Oh, and do take out the trash on your way out. We don't need Zethrid making a mess on these steps."

The cat had already distanced itself from Zethrid as she stomped and faced the top of the palanquin. "But my Diamond, this was the same fool that dared to call you a cheap, fake, imitation jewel! Let me have a go at him!"

"Relax, Zethrid. Acxa will drop him off at an ice planet on her way to the colonies where he'll undoubtedly freeze to death. Sometimes the best punishments are the ones that don't get your hands dirty."

Zethrid growled as Narti removed her hand from the captive and used her tail to fling him to Acxa. Acxa caught him and continued down the steps, light reflecting off her gem that was at the back of her neck as she walked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys have been enjoying the AU so far. Alright, so I'll admit, the last bit of this chapter was added solely because I was impatient with introducing Lotor and his generals. I really wanted to get to them already. Oh, and since I didn't get to mentioning the specific gem placements of the following characters, here they are: Narti's gem is on her back, Haxus on his left cheek, and although I did say Lance's gem is on his right leg, I should have specifically mentioned that it was on his thigh, as Hunk's gem is placed on his left thigh. Lotor's gem is on his chest. 
> 
> I'd also like to bring up that after the next chapter, I plan on going more by standalone stories. There will be certain events told cohesively, but I find that I want to tell certain parts of this AU without having to worry about constraining myself to a specific form of storytelling. If you find that it isn't your thing, I completely understand. I just thought I'd give readers a heads-up before going in that direction. And if you have any questions for this AU, feel free to ask me here through a comment or leave an Ask on my Tumblr (same username, so it shouldn't be hard to find).


	5. Fusion Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gems try to get the hang of fusing with one another, some getting it down easier than others.

After all had settled down, the damage done to the castle was checked on. The good news was that there wasn't any permanent damage done to the castle itself. The bad news was that the blast from Sendak's ship caused debris to fall atop the teledove. There was no going back now as the Earth gems would have to stay to protect the universe. But protecting the universe meant preparing for upcoming battles and knowing how to become Voltron again. 

The training deck had mats placed across the floor. The gems were aligned on the wall, hands on vertical poles. Coran stood before them wearing what appeared to be gym clothes as he had on a blue tank top and sweatpants with a towel around his neck.

"Alright, gems, as you may already know, the key to taking down the Galra empire is by forming Voltron. Now, of course, Voltron can only be formed if you five fuse. But the most important part of any fusion is,” Coran whipped his towel in the air, “dancing!”

“Coran, we already knew that,” Lance said. “I mean, we are the gems that aren’t associated with Galra. Fusions are pretty common back on Earth.”

Pidge moved her eyes side to side, folding her arms together.

“Yes, but I want to see how you five dance to become Voltron!”

“The dance to form Voltron is very important,” Allura came out, dressed in a battle suit and her hair tied back in a bun. “You must create your own dance and memorize the steps in order to bring Voltron out.”

“Are you sure it’s okay for us to form them here?” Hunk pointed to the floor. “Won’t Voltron be too big for this room?”

“Not to worry,” Coran reassured. “The training deck is designed to shift accordingly based on the size and width of the largest being that’s aboard.”

“That’s convenient,” Keith commented.

“Now, we’ll play some music to get you pumped,” a control panel came up in front of Allura. “Let the rhythm guide you and synchronize your movements with your fellow gems.”

“Alright, guys. Let’s dance!” Shiro said.

“Yeah!” Everyone threw fist bumps in the air.

Allura played the music. Everyone tried to go along with the beat, but not even ten seconds into the song and everyone was dancing to their own rhythm. Hunk stumbled on his feet, causing him to push against Keith who in turn stepped on Lance’s foot who then elbowed Pidge and then Pidge fell back against Shiro. Allura pressed pause on the music.

“What was that?” She placed her hands on her hips. “That was the worst synchronization I have ever seen!”

“Well maybe if Keith hadn’t stepped on my precious foot, we would have had an awesome dance,” Lance glanced at Keith.

“Maybe you should pay more attention to your surroundings!” Keith glared at Lance.

“Oh, so it’s my fault that you bumped into me?”

“No, it’s Hunk’s fault.”

“I want nothing to do with this!” Hunk made clear.

“Guys, enough,” Shiro said. “Look, it was our first try. We can do it again. Allura, play it from the top.”

The gems lined up again as Allura set up the song. When she pressed play, the gems were more wary of their steps this time around. However, their movements were stiff and Lance purposefully stepped on Keith’s foot this time around.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“For stepping on my foot last time!”

“Stop! From the top again,” Shiro instructed.

Everyone got back as the song restarted. Time after time, the gems found themselves messing up. None of them could be synchronized, and there were times where one or more would go off beat. Allura stopped the song in the middle of one of their mess ups, the team on the floor.

“There’s no way we can make this work,” Hunk complained. “I think there might be too many of us.”

“Are there?” Shiro questioned. “What’s the maximum number of gems fused back on Earth?”

“Typically three at most,” Lance answered.

“Well, we were able to become Voltron once, so it can’t be impossible for us to form a five gem fusion.”

“Hey, maybe we should start off slow,” Lance suggested. “Why don’t we fuse one at a time?”

“One at a time?”

“Yeah, like we could try fusing in pairs first. See how that goes.”

“I guess we could do that.”

“Now hold on a minute,” Coran butted in. “How can you be in pairs when there are five of you? One of you is bound to be left out.”

“The last one can stay in the sidelines in the meantime,” Pidge immediately said. “I call singling this one out!” Pidge stood in between Coran and Allura.

Her teammates eyed one another in confusion, but gave in. Shiro extended his arm out to Keith.

“I think we should try fusing first,” Shiro smiled. “I might be a bit rusty, but I can still lead.”

Keith took a hold of Shiro’s hand. “Heh, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Shiro pulled Keith in and the two began dancing. Lance tapped Hunk’s shoulder.

“C’mon, Hunk,” he slid his hand down to Hunk’s hand, pulling him to the dance floor. “We have to show them who the superior fusion is.”

 

The couples danced as Pidge, Allura and Coran watched. They were surprised by how in-synch they were. Lights emitted from their bodies. The pairs became one. Shiro and Keith’s fusion was that of a fellow with long hair and a single strand of white hair. The fusion retained Shiro’s scar and limb enhancer, although Keith’s gem was still on the backside of the hand. He possessed four eyes and had one hand on his hip with the other arm falling down. Hunk and Lance’s fusion looked nervous as he came out. The third eye atop his head scanned the room, his two top arms tapping their fingers with his two bottom arms folding hands. Allura walked up to the fusions.

“I can’t believe it,” Allura said. “This is...interesting. Do you have names for yourselves?”

“Well, what can I say, I try,” Hance said. “And the name’s Hance.”

“Sheith.” Sheith yawned. “Trying or not, how much longer do we have to be here? I’m exhausted.”

“You can’t leave just yet,” Allura said. “We still need you to form Voltron. Now that we have two fusions, I believe it will be easier if you, Hance, and Pidge dance together.”

Pidge had a look of disbelief. “Uh...are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? Lance did say earlier that you Earth fusions typically have three gems. And this is as close to a three part fusion as we're going to get.”

Coran pushed Pidge. “Off you go!”

Pidge tried to balance herself as she stood between Hance and Sheith. Sweat trickled down her neck as she adjusted her lenses. The music from before started up again. Hance and Sheith were able to follow the beat. Pidge, however, was having difficulty. She opted on following Hance’s lead. As the song went on, Pidge was growing more and more nervous. Hance and Sheith grabbed her hands, their eyes closed. Pidge glanced at them awkwardly before closing her own eyes. She tried to visualize herself forming Voltron. Becoming Voltron. Instead, she pulled her hands away from the fusions. Hance and Sheith opened their eyes in concern.

“Pidge?” Sheith asked.

Pidge shook her head. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“What?”

Allura stopped the music.

“We cannot stop training just because one member isn’t up for it,” Allura scolded.

Pidge crossed her arms. “I don’t care! I’m not doing this!”

“Pidge, wait,” Hance called out, unfusing in the process.

Pidge stomped out of the training deck. Sheith looked in confusion.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Honestly, we don’t know,” Lance answered.

Hunk followed after her.

  


Pidge was mingling with the mice, feeding them the green goo from the kitchen when Hunk came in.

“Hunk? What are you doing here?”

Hunk put his hand on the counter.

“You know I always head for the kitchen when I’m not training.” He noticed her remaining cross armed. “Hey, about earlier. I don’t know what’s going on, but you know you can tell me if something’s up, right?”

Pidge didn’t answer him, extending her finger to one of the mice.

Hunk sighed. “Look, I get it. You don’t want to talk about it. But sooner or later we have to figure out how we’re gonna dance to form Voltron. We just need to apply our different dance styles to one another. If you want, you can fuse with one of us first and we can go from there.”

“I can’t,” Pidge muttered.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I’m,” Pidge sunk her head in her arms. “I’m not used to fusing.”

“Oh...well, maybe you can think about the times you have fused and-”

“I’ve only fused once.”

“Really? When?”

Pidge looked down at the counter. “When we formed Voltron…”

Hunk stood beside her. “You mean, you’ve never fused before?”

She shook her head. “I never thought I could.” She opened her palm and a spoon floated in the air. “I’m an Era 2 Peridot. I’m not like the rest of you. Whatever powers I do have are limited. I can’t even shapeshift and my power to control metal isn’t even as good as most other Era 2 Peridots.” She sunk herself lower. “I haven’t even fused with other peridots.” Pidge put her face down. “I don’t know how a gem like me can be a part of something incredible. Being Voltron was amazing. But, I don’t get why Voltron would come out with me in the equation. I’m just….me…”

Hunk turned her and lifted her chin gently.

“Hey, you listen to me. All of us are new to this. And I can tell you right now that no one is as scared about this as I am. But,” he let his hand fall from her chin, “we can’t let thoughts like those get in our way. We have to believe in ourselves. Think about our strengths. Your strengths.”

Pidge rubbed her elbows. She took a deep breath.

“Okay.”

Hunk held his hand out.

“If you want, we can try practicing right now.”

Pidge adjusted her lenses. “What?”

“I mean, I don’t expect us to fuse. We could try practicing a few steps together. I wanna see how you dance. And since no one’s here, maybe you’ll feel less nervous?”

Pidge smiled, taking out a music player and pressing play.

“Alright, let’s see if you can teach me how to dance.”

Pidge grabbed both of Hunk’s hands and the two started dancing. It started off as a bit awkward, but after getting used to the rhythm did they stop thinking about how they looked and focused more on enjoying the song together. They let go, still moving their feet alongside one another. As the song approached its conclusion, they held hands again. This time, when their hands touched, their gems glowed and the two were engulfed in light.

 

They didn’t know what they had become. They still had the same pair of legs and arms, although they felt four eyes instead of two and an extra mouth underneath their chin. They looked down at their hands before noticing a clear surface that had their reflection. They touched the bottom of one of their lower eyes.

“How does it feel?” They asked themselves. “I know you became Voltron before, but does it feel any different with just one gem?” They laughed. “This feels great!” Their stomach growled. “Oh, right. I guess we, I mean I, should get something to eat.”

  


“Seriously, where are those two?” Keith asked. “Shiro, you better give them a good talking to once we find them.”

“Relax, Keith,” Shiro said. “It’s not like they could have gone anywhere else outside of this castle.”

“I guess. I don’t see why we had to unfuse, though.”

“Sheith wouldn’t budge from that mat,” Lance complained. “I’m surprised Allura didn’t kill you over how lazy Sheith was.”

An empty bowl rolled down from the kitchen. Shiro picked it up.

“Hunk’s probably in there.”

When they entered the kitchen, they were surprised to see the piles of plates and bowls on the counter and a mysterious gem working furiously on a computer. The three of them eyed one another in confusion. The mysterious gem brought a plate of food and chugged it down with a hidden mouth underneath their chin before continuing to type away.

“Uh….should we stop them?” Lance whispered.

Keith brought out his sword.

“Hey, you!”

The gem turned around.

“Who are you and what do you think you’re doing to our kitchen?”

The gem licked their fingers before setting aside the computer.

“Oh, you guys don’t recognize me?”

Shiro stepped forward, examining them top to bottom. He widened his eyes.

“Pidge, Hunk, is that you?”

“Hidge is just fine, and yeah, it’s us. Or rather, the result of us becoming one. I’ve never come out before, but it feels so good. No wonder fusion is big on Earth.”

“Uh...if you don’t mind me asking, but what exactly are you doing here?”

Hidge tilted their head. “Well, Hunk came here to comfort Pidge, and then Pidge was all like, ‘Voltron was my first fusion,’ so then Hunk offered to help Pidge with the whole fusion thing, and then I came out and then I got hungry so I started eating, but I figured I might as well do something useful while I ate, so I made a lot of upgrades to the castle’s security system and now you guys are here and this is where we are.”

Keith turned to Lance. “Wait, Pidge never fused before. Why didn’t you tell us before we started training?”

“How was I supposed to know?!”

“Well, you worked with her before. Weren’t you, Hunk, and Pidge on the same team?”

“Yeah, but Pidge didn’t exactly hang out with Hunk or I a lot.” Lance eyed Hidge. “Or maybe she didn’t hang out with me a lot.”

Hidge got in between them. “Hey, hey, it’s nothing personal. Pidge was just too embarrassed to say anything. But now that I’m here, I guess we could get back to trying that fusion dance again!” Hidge grabbed two plates of food. “Let me just finish this first.”

Shiro put the plates down.

“I think you’ve had enough.” He smiled. “But I am proud of you for coming out.” He looked up at them. “Fusion isn’t easy for everyone and not all fusions are for the best. But as long as you have a partner, or partners, you trust, then you can be more than what you imagined.”

Hidge smiled. “Thanks, Shiro.”

“We can start the training again tomorrow. For now, you can wash these dishes.”

Hidge looked at the piles they left behind. “Oops.” They picked up a sponge. “Yeah, I’ll get on that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm happy that you guys finally get to meet some of the fusions. And there will definitely be more fusions in the future! I wanted to take this time to remind you guys that from here on out, I'm gonna be uploading more drabble oriented chapters, which means this won't be flowing like a typical chronological story. There will be some scenarios told in order, but that won't be the case for all of them. I understand if it's not to your liking. But if you're willing to give it a go, I'd love to hear what you think of the new format as it goes. Don't forget that you can always ask me questions about this AU here or on Tumblr @circustalia.


	6. Cleaning Cryopods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coran and Lance clean the cryopods where they learn a thing or two about one another.

Coran assigned Lance to help him with cleaning the cryopods, much to Lance's displeasure. Lance leaned back against a wall as he manipulated the water to wash the cryopods. Once he saw that his set of cryopods were done, he brought the water back to the bucket.

"Well, I'm done," Lance declared.

"Not so fast." 

Lance turned around to be met with a dry towel that smacked his face. 

"What gives, Coran?"

"You still need to dry them off," Coran continued wiping the inside of one of his cryopods. "These should be dry enough to look spick and span."

Lance huffed as he walked over to a nearby cryopod and started wiping it's surface. As the two continued cleaning, a drop of water fell on Coran's head.

"Hey, now," Coran turned his head, "I know you don't want to be here, but there's no need to go dropping water on me." Another drop hit his head.

"That's not me," Lance said in confusion. The two of them looked up to see that there was a leak in the ceiling.

"Oh, quiznak," Coran stepped aside, "I thought that thing would have been fixed years ago. Not to worry, I think all it needs is to be reattached to the other pipes. Lance, if you don't mind, would you be so kind as to fly up there and fix it?"

Lance rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh...about that...."

"What? Don't tell me it'd be tedious for you."

Lance shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's just that...I can't fly."

Coran laughed. "What? That's preposterous. Of course you can fly. You're a lapis lazuli. You were designed to take flight."

"I was supposed to be," Lance looked down. "But there was a problem in the kindergarten I was made at. I came out before my flight capabilities could manifest." Lance shifted his feet. "Maybe I can extend my legs and fix it by shapeshifting." 

Lance concentrated on making his legs longer as he rose higher from where he was. He reached the top and adjusted the pipe so that it would stay bound and stop the leaking. When he was done, he reverted back to his regular height. Coran walked next to him.

"Are all lapis lazulis from Earth incapable of flight?" Coran asked.

Lance felt his face flush. "Er, no. There are ones that can fly. But like I said, there was a problem with my specific kindergarten, so I'm not the only lazuli that can't fly!"

"Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of. I was only asking. I know very little about the gems that fled from this side of the universe."

"Yeah, well, not all gem types are drones of one another. At least, not on Earth."

Coran sat down at the edge of the steps. "You're right. And you have every right to be angry over my ignorance. I did nothing for the rebel gems. I refused to learn."

Lance sat down across from him. "What do you mean?"

Coran stared at the wall across from him. "I knew of the ongoing civil gem war when it occured. I wanted to understand why it happened, but I didn't want to risk hurting Altea's alliance with the gems. So, I held my tongue and didn't pry on those matters. In the end, that didn't matter: they ended up betraying us. I still lost my king, my people, and my planet."

Lance looked at Coran. "Coran, I-"

Coran smiled. "It's alright, Lance." He faced him. "I still have the castle. Allura's safe. And I got the chance to meet gems that could make unique identities for themselves. I'm glad I woke up to see that. I can tell you miss your home planet. You miss it as much as I miss Altea. But someday you'll realize that the decisions you make will be out of love for your home and that home doesn't have to necessarily be where you live. It can be somewhere that makes you feel like you fit in. Or people that you love."

Lance rested his chin atop his knees. "I guess so. But, how do you stop missing all of that? Missing your family?"

"You don't," Coran answered. "But you don't let grief swallow you up. You control it and look on the good things from the past, present, and future."

Lance lifted his head. "Huh? I think that makes sense." 

"You'll understand soon enough," Coran stood up. As he was about to continue drying off the cryopod, Lance spoke up.

"Hey, Coran."

"Yes?"

Lance opened his hand. "My first towel got soaked."

Coran tossed him another towel he had in his pocket. 

 


	7. Gem Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a snippet of the gems training for battle.

The simulation was setup to begin the gems training. Shiro acted as the enemy for the other four to pit against. He held his right arm up, readying it to attack. Keith summoned his sword immediately, lunging himself at Shiro. Shiro stopped the sword midway with his arm.

“Come on, Keith, you can do better than a full frontal attack,” Shiro pushed the blade back and was about to punch Keith before Keith backed away.

Keith smirked. From behind Pidge held her katar up. She electrocuted Shiro with her weapon as he felt the waves of electricity run through his body. He looked behind to see Pidge smirking.

“A distraction,” Shiro realized. “Not bad.”

“I know,” Pidge replied.

Shiro shifted his arm into a hammer and swung it at Pidge, Pidge avoiding his swings. Hunk shifted his size to be larger than average and easily picked Shiro up and threw him across the training room. Shiro got up, nodding.

“I see someone thinks it easier to use their shapeshifting abilities in combat,” Shiro’s arm turned into a chain and he threw it around Hunk’s ankles. Hunk came tumbling down, reverting back to his original size. “Just don’t forget that our shape shifting abilities can only get us so far.”

At the other side of the deck, Lance leaned against the wall nonchalantly, checking out his nails. Shiro shook his head as he walked over.

“Lance, come on,” he said. “You’re supposed to be taking this seriously.”

Shiro stopped in his tracks. Underneath his foot was a puddle of water. He stepped back, the puddle of water moving away and forming into a clone of Shiro. Shiro’s water clone got into a battle stance.

“I’d rather chill back here if everything’s under control,” Lance said without looking up.

The water clone started attacking the black star diopside. Shiro tried to kick the water clone, only for his kicks to be ineffective. The clone kicked back, this time with some force. Shiro remained standing. He transformed his arm into a grappler, shooting it through the water clone and grabbing Lance. Lance yelled as he fell and the water clone turned back into a puddle.

“Our sharpshooter needs to stay focused,” Shiro said, letting go of Lance.

Lance summoned his rifle and fired at Shiro.

“Who says I’m not?” Lance asked.

Hunk got out his cannon and fired as well. Shiro flung himself into the air, the shots not landing on him. He clenched his fist and punched right into the floor. The team ran and circled Shiro, holding their weapons out. When Shiro got up, he found himself surrounded. He laughed. 

“Excellent work, team!” he said. “You’ve all been improving your team building skills.”

They all raised a fist in the air.

“Does this mean we can stop training for today?” Lance asked.

Shiro laughed again. “Oh, Lance. We’re just getting started.” He faced the rest of the team. “Alright, everyone, Lance is the new target.”

“Hey, wait!”

Keith grinned as he swung his sword which emitted fire that came Lance’s way. Lance was quick to raise his water, which caused steam to come out. From behind, Pidge shocked Lance.


	8. Purpose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sendak and Haxus aren't afraid to express their views on a gem's purpose.

Haxus and Sendak had infiltrated the castle amidst the festivities held by the Alteans and Earth gems. Getting inside was simple enough. Haxus was in charge of destroying the castle from the inside while Sendak would deal with the gems. Haxus found the control room and began implementing viruses and shutting off power sources. He was careful to not shut the castle down completely, especially if Sendak needed the light to see in combat. Unbeknownst to him, however, he had been followed by Pidge, who was hot on his trail. Pidge snuck into the control room as quietly as she could, with Rover's scanners showing her what she needed to see as she saw off the feed from her wrist pads. Once she got a clear view of Haxus, she turned off the screen and readied her katar. Rover flew to the side as Pidge slowly approached Haxus. As Haxus continued to type away, he stopped. Pidge stopped in her tracks, ready to back away. However, Haxus continued his typing. Pidge observed him, waiting a few seconds before continuing her footsteps. But as she took her next step, Haxus turned around, summoning a blaster gun and shooting at Pidge.

Pidge dodged as she rolled back, facing up to Haxus. Haxus lowered his weapon, staring down at her.

"I was followed by a peridot?" He clicked his tongue. "You're not honestly a part of that monsterous fusion, are you?"

"And if I am?" Pidge got up. "I don't need to be fused to take you down."

"Heh," Haxus held his gun high again. "I refuse to be taken down by a puny peridot." He shot fire again, but Pidge was able to keep dodging his attacks. She slid to him, extending her leg and knocking him down. He gave a low growl before grabbing her ankle. He lifted her up with ease and held her over an open area of the floor. "This is why peridots aren't meant for combat." Before he could let go of her, Rover smacked himself against Haxus' head. Haxus waved his free hand before smacking Rover to the wall. Pidge used that window of opportunity to slash Haxus with her katar and have him electrocuted. She swung her body as he let go, landing on her feet. Pidge pushed him down and pounded him with her weapon. It was strong enough to break Haxus' physical form as he poofed into thin air. Pidge placed her hands around the tanzanite as she engulfed it in a green bubble. She tapped the top of the bubble and it teleported away from her. Pidge checked on Rover, who, aside from a few fallen parts, was alright.

"Thank you," she told him, to which Rover glowed meekly. "It's okay. You can rest. I'll go find the others"

Pidge looked up on the screens and pulled up the video feed where she saw Shiro and Lance outside of the castle, engaged in battle with Sendak.

* * *

Sendak and Shiro battled using their robotic arms. They clashed continuously, neither one going off balance. They panted, staring down at each other. Before they could clash again, a blast hit Sendak's shoulder. Sendak stumbled back and witnessed Lance with his sniper. Sendak laughed.

"I don't think a two against one fight is very fair," Sendak said.

"Like you would know anything about fair," Lance retorted. "Leave this planet or else."

Sendak laughed even harder. "I don't take orders from a lapis." His robotic hand was sent flying to Lance's direction. Lance jumped out of the way. "What? Too proud to fly away?" Lance averted his gaze from Sendak. "Oh, I see. You can't fly, can you?"

"Don't focus on him!" Shiro stood between Sendak and Lance. "You still have me to worry about."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. But I think we should get rid of further distractions." The robotic hand extended its claws as it came slashing through Lance. Shiro turned around to see Lance's stunned body. Lance had his arms out, looking desperately at Shiro before retreating to his gem. 

"Lance!" 

The hand returned to Sendak, who tilted his head mockingly. "I see why you clods feel the need to fuse. You're all defective." Sendak showed off his fangs. "You're all weak on your own. Even you, who has that technology attached to you. But it's clear that you weren't meant for that." His arm grew in size as he attempted to smash Shiro, who blocked his attack. "I, on the other hand, was." Shiro pushed Sendak back. "I have the latest model. I'm able to endure so much more than you. I'm stronger than you." Sendak circled around Shiro. "And that's because I was made for that purpose. I was created to be experimented on. While you, you were never made for that." Sendak's claw grabbed Shiro and he lifted him up in the air. Shiro struggled to break free. "If they hadn't damaged you, you might have had a sporting chance against me." Sendak's grip grew tigther. "But I guess we'll never know."

Shiro felt like he was about to explode. But he couldn't. He had to protect the castle. The planet. His friends. Shiro focused his energy on heating up his arm. As he was about to strike, a blast made its way to where Sendak stood. Sendak let go of Shiro and they saw Hunk, Pidge, and Keith on standby, Hunk lifting the canon before making it go away.

"More interruptions!?" Sendak rushed to them, only for Keith to summon his blade and slide underneath Sendak. Shiro grabbed Keith's hand and the two fused into Sheith, who looked at Sendak with a void expression.

"Trust me, I hate interruptions as much as you do. Allow me to take care of this one." Sheith held the blade up. 

Sendak looked at the fusion in irritation. 

"Don't think your dirty little fusion trick is going to work on me!" Sendak smashed his arm against Sheith, who used his sword to block every move. Sheith kept dodging Sendak's attacks, flipping back and landing on his feet.

"How's this for a dirty trick?"

Sheith thrusted his sword through Sendak's chest. Sendak looked down in shock as his physical form disappeared, leaving behind his gemstone. Sheith got rid of his weapon and bubbled Sendak away. Hunk and Shiro came up to them.

"Are you alright?" Pidge asked.

Sheith rolled his shoulders. "Yeah, but it was more trouble than it was worth."

"Wait, where's Lance?" Hunk looked around.

Sheith gasped. "Lance!"

He unfused. Shiro went over to pick up Lance's gem. Keith placed his hand on top of the lapis lazuli.

"Will he be alright?" 

"Yeah, he will be," Shiro assured. "For all their talk of a gem's purpose, the Galra don't seem to realize the real potential all of us have. What really makes us stronger."

Keith smiled. "I think Lance would agree with you on that."

They all went back inside the castle to recuperate from the battle. 


	9. Shiro's Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Shiro escaped from the Galra Empire.

From the depths of the kindergarten, Shiro continued helping out the other misfit gems by carrying supplies to the base. Being stuck at the bottom made it difficult for him to keep track of time. He didn’t know how long it had been since he became wanted for his defect. However, he did find himself growing accustomed to his one arm. It certainly didn’t make him any less useless, contrary to what the Galra believed.

Once he was done, Shiro rested against a hole, looking up at a sky that never seemed to change. It felt like an eternity since he was in his home planet. He didn’t know that the day of the trip to the Kerberos base would be the day he left his home planet for good. Still, Shiro considered himself lucky. The misfits he found underneath New Daibazaal treated him well and gave him a newfound purpose. All had searched for a way to leave New Daibazaal, and hoped to find allies that would overthrow the diamond’s rule.

Shiro got lost in the view of the unchanging sky as Ulaz, an older jade, came up behind him. Ulaz sat down next to him, a box in his hands.

“Ulaz?” Shiro asked.

Ulaz held the box out.

“For you. I would like to test something out.”

Shiro took the box and unraveled its contents. Inside was a prosthetic right arm, one that was the same size as his left arm.

“How did you find this?” Shiro asked. It was rare for limb enhancers to be dropped down in the abyss of used up kindergartens, especially one that was of such high quality. If limb enhancers were broken, they would typically be repurposed for something else.

“Put it on,” Ulaz instructed.

Shiro attached the arm to his shoulder and it latched on seamlessly. He moved his fingers with ease and bent his arm carefully.

“This is incredible,” Shiro said. “Thank you, Ulaz.”

Ulaz got up. “That’s not all it can do.” Ulaz pulled out a scapel. “I hope you don’t mind, but I need to poof you.”

Shiro’s eyes widened. “What? What are you-”

“I don’t want to hurt you. I just need to see what happens when your physical form disappears.”

Shiro bit his lip, unsure of where Ulaz was going with this. Although, he supposed that getting poofed away wouldn’t be bad. There was nowhere for Ulaz to take him anyway. Shiro stood up, closing his eyes. Ulaz made the cut quick, Shiro’s physical form going away. But what made this interesting was that the arm also disappeared.

After a few minutes, Shiro was brought back, his new right arm still attached to him. He looked at it in amazement.

“Woah.”

Ulaz looked pleased. “Yes, that was what I was hoping for.”

“Ulaz?”

“Not so long ago, I found this arm while I was incognito to the surface. I wanted to give it you right then and there, but I figured some adjustments could be in place. I redesigned this arm to be a part of you. As long as it stays attached to you, it will always be with your physical form.”

Shiro smiled before placing a hand on Ulaz’s shoulder. “Thank you, my friend.”

“There is one other reason I had to test it out.” Ulaz moved ahead with Shiro following behind.

 

The two of them reached a part of the kindergarten that had been filled with abandoned gem tech. At the center was a pod that, while rusty, appeared to be fully functional.

Shiro ran up to the pod, pressing his hands against the glass.

“Ulaz, we’ve found a way to leave the planet! Let’s get the rest of the Blade here and we can start making preparations.”

Ulaz smiled, but shook his head. “I’m afraid they won’t be coming along.”

Shiro’s mouth frowned. “What? Why not? Is there something we need to do before we leave?”

Ulaz walked next to Shiro. “This pod isn’t meant for us. It’s meant for you.”

Shiro looked back at Ulaz in shock. “For me? Well, you’re coming, too, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry, Shiro. The Blade and I have talked things over, and...we believe it would be best for you to leave.”

“What are you saying? Have I been holding us back this whole time?”

“No, nothing like that. The pod can only fit one gem.”

Shiro chuckled nervously. “If that’s what you’re worried about, then maybe only one person can stay in their physical form and carry the rest of our gems in their hands.”

Ulaz shook his head. “There is still much we need to do here on New Daibazaal.” It was Ulaz’s turn to put his hands on Shiro’s shoulders. “The rest of the Blade and I stayed here after the gem civil war. If we were to leave, we would have nowhere to go. But you,” Ulaz looked into Shiro’s eyes, “you have somewhere to go. Unlike the rest of us, you have a home to return to. The Blade and I came to the agreement that if any of us should leave, it should be you.”

Shiro shook his head. “No. I can’t leave you and our friends behind. I can’t lose another team!”

Ulaz gave him an empathetic smile. “You will not lose us, Shiro. Your arm can be used as a tracking system. I’ve inputted the coordinates of our gems inside there. When you are ready, it will guide you back to us. Don’t be sad. We’ll be here when you look for us. I promise.”

Shiro took a deep breath, holding back his tears. “Can I at least say goodbye to everyone before I leave?”

Out from the other holes emerged the members of the Blade of Marmora. The defective gems gathered around the pod, some looking at Shiro tearfully. An amethyst with a small braid hanging behind his ear and a scar across a discolored eye approached the two.

“Shiro, we are grateful that Ulaz found you on that day. I know if I had been the one to find you, I wouldn’t have known what to do. But you were just like the rest of us: unwanted and lost. Except, over time, you came to be wanted and most importantly we thought we had found a missing member of our family.” The gem stepped back. “If you cannot find a way to take down Zarkon, do not search for us.”

Shiro slightly bowed his head to him. “Being among all of you has been a great honor, Kolivan.” Shiro looked out to the rest of the gems. “I’ll never forget any of you. I will come back. And we will take down Zarkon. For all gemkind and for the universe!” Shiro raised his fist in the air, the crowd following his lead in silence.

When Shiro brought his arm down, Ulaz had the pod opened up for him. Shiro stepped in. He took one last look at the faces that helped him survive. The last gem he saw was Ulaz, who kept his smile even as the pod closed.

Shiro didn’t expect for the pod to fly up in hyperspeed, leaving the planet undetected. Once he was out of New Daibazaal's atmosphere, he noticed something beside him. It looked like a warp pad, but he did not know if it was left there intentionally. He wished he could go back and ask about it, but it was too late. And before Shiro knew it, the way home was met with a bumpy road as asteroids smashed against the pod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this drabble. These are the gem placements I had in mind for Ulaz and Kolivan: Ulaz's gem is located on his chin and Kolivan's gem is located on his chest. 
> 
> And yes, I essentially made the Blade of Marmora this AU's equivalent of the off-colors. Please note that not all members of the Blade necessarily suffer from physical defects, and I'm not talking about fusion. There are a few spies among them that slip in the surface, returning intel to the group. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you look forward to the next drabble.


	10. Keith and Shunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk and Shiro get to give Keith some muscle as Shunk. While everyone else is happy to see Shunk, Keith can't help but a feel a bit embarrased with him around.

Everyone was assembled at the front deck of the castle ship. On screen was a map of a volcanic terrain planet. The planet was crumbling apart, boulders rolling around and being popped up and down everywhere. But inside one of the volcanoes was a powerful stone was a core part of destabilizers. 

“If we want to make our own destabilizer to use against the Galra, we’ll need that stone,” Coran said. “Judging by the state of this planet, it’s highly unlikely that there will be a lot of Galra troops surveying the volcano. I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t any Galra on this planet.”

“We can’t be too sure about that,” Shiro said. “Keith, since you’re the only one of us that can swim in lava, you’ll be in charge of retrieving the stone. Hunk and I will give you muscle to walk through the planet.”

“Got it,” Keith replied.

Hunk looked at the screen to see the influx of boulders turning in every direction.

“Shiro, are you sure we’ll be able to escort Keith with all those rocks flinging around in every direction?”

“What makes you unsure?” Shiro asked.

“Well, my strength might be able to hold them off, but I don’t know if I’d be able to keep up with all of them.”

Shiro walked over to Hunk. “You won’t be doing it alone. I’m coming along, too, remember? Besides, we won’t be protecting Keith individually.”

Pidge and Lance gasped while Keith’s face turned to shock. Hunk looked up at Shiro in confusion.

“You mean, you want us to fuse?”

Shiro nodded. Pidge and Lance couldn’t contain their smiles while Keith groaned. Keith approached Shiro and Hunk.

“Hold up,” Keith said. “Isn’t there another way we can do this? Maybe I can fuse with Hunk and Heith can trek through the planet instead. That way, we can kick the boulders that come our way while also being able to swim inside the lava.”

Shiro turned to Keith. “Keith, I understand your concern. I know Shunk can be a bit...protective, but he has the well being of the team in mind. It can be dangerous if you aren’t aware of your surroundings. Which is why Shunk is needed for this mission.”

Keith pouted. “Fine. But please try to keep Shunk under control. I don’t need him to act embarrassing.”

“No promises,” Shiro responded.

 

As they were getting ready to leave, Pidge and Lance were with Keith. 

“Why do you get to go with Shunk on a mission?” Lance complained.

“I wish Shiro would let us tag along,” Pidge added. She bit her lip. “I wanted to go with Shunk.”

“I don’t see why you guys would want to go with Shunk,” Keith said as he put his things away.

“What do you have against him?” Pidge asked.

Keith sighed. “I don’t have anything against Shunk. At least, not under normal circumstances. But he can get so overbearing. He never knows when to stop with all the hugs and kisses.”

“But his hugs are the best,” Lance said. “And he makes a good pillow to sleep on.”

“Last I checked, this wasn’t a mission where the objective is to take a nap.”

“Isn’t that ironic coming from someone who has a fusion that’s all about naps,” Pidge retorted.

Keith furrowed his eyes. “That’s different! Ugh, I don’t have time for this.”

Shiro and Hunk entered the boarding deck. They looked at one another and nodded. The two danced. In a flash, two pairs of arms emerged from light. The head had three eyes open up and look down on the other gems. When his eyes met Keith, he was quick to pick him up, much to Keith’s displeasure.

“Oh, Keith!” Shunk squealed. “It’s been so long!” Shunk squeezed Keith.

Keith raised his hand.

“Yeah,” he said breathlessly, “it’s, uh, nice to see you, too.”

Pidge and Lance ran up to Shunk in excitement. Shunk dropped Keith when he saw the other two gems.

“Oh my stars! Pidge! Lance!” Shunk picked them up with his arms. “How are my little gems?”

“We’re good, Shunk,” Pidge replied. “We’re so glad you’re here.”

Shunk kissed the top of Pidge and Lance’s heads.

“Hey, where’s Allura and Coran? I wanna greet them, too.”

Keith pushed Shunk away.

“We don’t have time to hug and kiss everyone,” Keith continued to push them into the direction of the lion ship. “We need to get on that planet right away.”

Shunk lowered his arms for Pidge and Lance to get off. He outstretched his arms again.

“Wanna lift?”

Keith walked past Shunk and went into the ship.

“I’m good.”

  
When they landed on the planet, Keith looked out to see the wasteland, the dryness of the land and the rolling boulders. He pulled up a projector that gave details on the volcano that was up ahead.

“It looks like we landed at the right spot. It might be a long walk, but I doubt this planet will be destroyed by the time we come back.” The projection was lifted away. “Alright, let’s get going.”

Before Keith could exit the ship, Shunk grabbed his shoulder.

“Hold up,” he said.

“What? Did we forget something?”

“Yes,” Shunk summoned a huge piece of armor.

“Shunk, you’re strong enough to get through this planet. I don’t think you need the armor to,” before Keith could finish his sentence, Shunk slammed the armor on Keith’s body.

“It’s not for me, silly,” Shunk adjusted the armor. “I know it’s a little big, but this should keep you safe.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Shunk, I don’t need this. I have you as my guard, I’ll be safe.”

“Now don’t be silly,” Shunk licked his thumb and swiped Keith’s eyebrow. “While I would never dream of letting anything happen to you, you never know what could happen.”

“Shunk, this armor is just going to slow me down. It’ll take longer for us to get to the volcano if I wear this. Besides, I don’t poof so easily.”

“If you don’t poof so easily, then why am I here?”

Keith was about to say something but couldn’t think of how to answer that. He removed pieces of the armor.

“I still don’t need to wear all of this.”

The two exited the ship and started their walk to the volcano. A large rolling rock went by and Shunk jumped in front of Keith and punched the rock into pieces. The trip went by like this for a while until Shunk spoke up.

“You know what? I think it might be better if you climbed on my back.”

“Shunk, that’s not going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Because we don’t have to. And that would mean that this armor you put on me would be pointless.”

“Not necessarily. I mean, I may not protect you from behind.”

“Look, let’s just focus on getting to the volcano and getting back,” before Keith took another step, Shunk grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up. There was a rolling rock that passed by where Keith was about to step.

“I think you’ll be safer on my back,” Shunk reiterated.

Keith lifted himself up from Shunk’s behind. He wrapped his arms and legs around Shunk. Keith didn’t say this aloud, but he actually felt a bit comfortable on Shunk’s back. Shunk used his lower arms to hold Keith’s legs while his upper arms smashed the boulders. Finally, they reached the volcano. Keith got off of Shunk and removed the armor.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Shunk asked.

“What? I don’t want to melt your armor.”

Shunk put his hands on the shoulder pads. “No, keep it on.”

“Shunk, I’ll be fine. I can swim in lava no problem.”

“I don’t care. I want you to be safe.”

“I am safe!”

“Keith!”

Keith pushed the armor off of him and silently dived into the volcano. Shunk bit their fingers.

“Oh, I hope he’ll be okay.”

Just then, a flying craft came overhead. From out of the craft was a galra, whose gem was on his shoulder blade, holding a canon of sorts and firing at Shunk.

“I didn’t think I’d actually find any rebel gems here,” the galra said. “And wouldn’t you know it, I come across an ugly looking display.”

Shunk raised their fists. “Just get away from me. You have no business being here!”

The galra aimed his cannon again. “Neither do you.”

When they fired again, Shunk dodged. He grabbed a piece of the volcano and flung it at the cannon. Shunk ran down the volcano, garnering the galra’s attention away. The galra jumped out of the aircraft and began chasing down Shunk. The galra and Shunk started fighting, Shunk being more on the defensive.

“I didn’t think something as large as you would have such soft blows,” the galra commented.

Shunk ignored him.

“We have to fight back,” Shunk told himself. “But we shouldn’t. I don’t want to hurt anyone if we don’t have to.”

 

Meanwhile, Keith was swimming against the current of lava. During his swim, he found the stone that was needed. He grabbed it and swam back up to the surface. When he popped up, he didn’t see Shunk anywhere.

“Shunk?” he paddled to the crater. When he got out, he was surprised to see an aircraft hanging above. He looked down and saw Shunk fighting a galra. Keith put the stone inside his pocket and ran down, summoning his sword. When Keith got down, he tried to slash his sword at the enemy, but missed. Shunk gasped.

“Keith, what are you doing? Get out of here!”

The galra smirked. “So, there was another one of you rebels? Heh, at least you have a real soldier on your side.” The galra summoned his cannon again and started blasting in Keith’s direction. Keith dodged the attacks while Shunk struggled to apprehend the galra. As Keith was about to slash through the galra, he felt something hit him from behind. He dropped his sword and turned around. From the aircraft was a laser gun underneath. And a laser that left a wound through Keith’s physical form. Before Keith could say a word, he poofed, nothing but his gem and the stone he was carrying left. Shunk shivered up in worry.

“Keith?” He pushed the galra away, picking up the red spinel and the other stone. He punched a hole through the base of the crater and carefully put the red spinel and the stone down. “I’ll be right back, Keith.” He brushed his fingers on the gem. “Take your time to recover.”

“Hey, freak!” the galra called out. “I’m not finished with you. Once I get rid of your physical form, I’ll see to it that you get shattered.”

Shunk clenched his fists. He stomped out of their hand-made cave. When a boulder came in his direction, he did not crush it. Rather, he stopped it. He threw the boulder straight towards the aircraft, causing it to crash down and explode. The galra was clearly distressed, looking back at the towering beast of a fusion. Shunk roared aloud, heading head first to the galra. The galra gem tried to outrun Shunk, but was immediately pulled in with their fake arm that glowed. Shunk used one of his real arms to hold the enemy while his glowing arm punched the daylights out of the galra gem.

“No one hurts my friends!” Shunk cried out before flinging the galra gem into the air and summoning punching them one last time with his glowing arm. With that, the galra gem’s physical form disappeared.

Shunk rushed to Keith and the stone, picking them up from the cave. He held them in his lower hands as they rushed back to the ship. He piloted them back to the castle, where everyone was waiting for them on the boarding deck.

 

“Are you alright?” Allura asked.

“We ran into some galra,” Shunk opened his lower palms, “and Keith got hurt. But he was able to grab the stone.”

Coran picked the stone up from Shunk’s grasp. Pidge and Lance stared down at the red spinel.

“What are we gonna do about Keith?” Pidge asked. “How long will it take him to regenerate?”

Shunk put a hand on Pidge’s head. “He’ll be fine. I know it doesn’t take him very long to regenerate. Although, I’d still like to be around when he comes back. Lance, do you think you can grab me a pillow?”

“Sure,” Lance responded as he went out to grab the nearest pillow.

 

Everyone left the boarding deck and headed to the room with the cryogenic pods. Lance handed the pillow he found to Shunk and Shunk placed the red spinel on the pillow. Allura and Coran offered to watch over Keith, but Shunk turned them down.

“He might wonder where I am if I leave,” he argued.

The team agreed to leave Shunk alone as Coran had Pidge work with him to start building the destabilizer while Lance helped Allura with overseeing the route to their next destination.

Sometime in the middle of the night, the red spinel hovered up, the light of a figure emerging from the gem. Once the light disappeared, Keith reappeared. He put a hand on his head.

“Why am I back on the castle?” he asked.

Shunk scooted closer to him, pulling Keith in for a hug.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re alright!” he exclaimed. Then he gently removed his arms from Keith. “Sorry, I’m just glad you were able to regenerate without any issue.”

Keith shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Um, where’s the stone?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Coran and Pidge are currently in possession of it. We succeeded in our mission.”

“And the galra that were on that planet?”

Shunk smiled. “They were taken care of.” Shunk twiddled with his fingers. “So, I guess now that you’re okay, you probably want me to unfuse, right?”

Keith’s face turned red. “Um, no. You don’t, you don’t have to go away if you don’t want to. You did protect me after all. And thank you for that, by the way.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Hey, uh, if it’s alright with you, and I totally understand if you’re not up for it, but I’m actually still tired and I was wondering if maybe I could sleep in your room?” Keith looked up at Shunk with wide eyes.

Shunk giggled, picking Keith up. “Of course. Did you want to sleep on me?”

Keith shifted his eyes from Shunk. “....yes.”

Shunk carried Keith to his room, where everything was filled with comfortable furniture. He sat back on a reclining chair, his arms surrounding Keith.

“Did you want a blanket?” Shunk asked.

“No, like this is fine,” Keith answered. He ducked his head underneath Shunk’s chin and closed his eyes. He fell asleep instantly.


	11. A Pearl's Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearls are expected to serve and nothing more. One pearl, however, has a greater purpose.

The war room was composed of generals and commanders presenting the latest sightings of the Voltron fusion. Zarkon Diamond was seated atop his throne, looking down at their screens, with Haggar standing next to his seat. As they talked, the pearls on the sidelines observed everything that was going on, a few of them taking notes for their masters. However, one pearl listened intentively to the discussion. He was one of Zarkon Diamond's most valued pearls, one that proved he could do more with his purpose to serve. This pearl was entrusted with not only recording meetings, but also with handling and holding delicate information that was vital to the Galra cause. 

When the meeting ended, the pearl closest to the door opened it for the military personnel, who all exited in line before the pearls followed in suit. Zarkon Diamond dismissed a few of his own pearls, except for his trusted one. 

"Thace," Zarkon Diamond called. 

Thace stopped in his tracks before turning around and kneeling before his diamond. Zarkon pressed a few buttons from his arm rest when a cylinder shaped pillar emerged before Thace. On the pillar was a tiny blue chip, secured by a barrier of some sort. The barrier disappeared, however, after Zarkon pressed another button. 

"Take these to the archives," he commanded. "And do not take this chip out until you are inside."

"Understood, my Diamond," Thace replied before getting up. He took the chip from the pillar and turned over his right hand. The gem on his palm glowed as he dropped the chip inside. The glowing ceased once it was inside. 

Thace took his leave, careful not to look directly in anyone's eyes.

 

Once he got to the archives, Thace locked the door and looked around. He put the chip inside one of the computers and pulled up the files that were stored inside. The files revealed information on Zarkon's most valuable bases, including his own ship. Thace summoned a flash drive from his gem and quickly put it inside the computer, transferring the files. He typed quickly, reading what was written and memorizing the layouts. It didn't take long as the files were successfully transfered and he was quick to remove his flash drive and put it back in his gem. The chip was also removed from the computer and placed in a holder with dozens of other chips. He got back on the computer and erased any evidence that someone had logged in. Once he was done, he unlocked the door, and headed to the delivery room.

What he didn't expect, however, was for an amethyst with fangs coming out from his lower jaw to be waiting for him outside. Thace quickly hid his face, remaining calm in the presence of this amethyst. This particular amethyst was in the war room earlier, glaring at Haggar. Thace believed this one was called Prorok.

"Zarkon Diamond has asked you to accompany me on my mission," Prorok said. "You may look in your work entry for proof."

Thace summoned a tablet and searched up his work log for the week. As Prorok said, he was to serve Prorok for the next few days. He put his tablet away and made sure to keep his distance for his temporary master.

"Honestly, I don't know why Zarkon Diamond insisted on having you accompany me," the amethyst continued talking. "I tried to tell him that a pearl isn't necessary to be aboard my ship, but apparently he believes you will be an asset to me." Prorok scoffed. "You may be one of his pearls, but you are still a pearl nonetheless. As long as you stay out of my way, we won't have any trouble." He turned. "Come along, now, Pearl. My crew is expecting me."

Thace followed Prorok in silence. This was a detour of his plans, but it was not something that couldn't be overcome. Thace felt grateful that this commander was set on having a clear space between them. It was likely that Prorok wouldn't notice, or even care, if Thace slipped into the shadows to send the flash drive away. He just had to wait for the right moment.

A moment that didn't take long to appear. Thace was in the back of the room as he was in fake negotiations with a couple of wanted outlaws. He noticed a nearby space chute that he could use to place his flash drive in. He looked around and got in front of the chute. He took the chip out and placed it inside a pill like case. Without looking, he entered the coordinates for the case to be delivered to as he put it back in the chute. He pressed his fingers on something that then caused the enclosed chip to tunnel out of the ship and into the vaccuum of space. 

All the while, Prorok was just about finished talking with the outlaws before sending in an attack ship to destroy them. He glanced at Thace, who was back in his original position.

"Don't even think about telling Zarkon Diamond about this," Prorok said. "If anyone's brought us closer to taking down that wretched thing, it's me." And in a low voice that was barely audible, he said, "And I did without the help of that witch, too," before presuming his post. 

Thace hoped that his real team would receive the chip soon. Prorok's attitude was the result of Zarkon's reign. That was something Thace had known all his life. It wasn't easy for him to get to where he was. Even being called by his name by Zarkon was a great feat in and of itself. However, Thace was all too aware of the dangers Zarkon's rule had brought about. Too many times did he see a planet and innocent bystanders suffer at Zarkon's greed. A greed that had flown down to the Galra gems. That greed couldn't have been more present than in non-pearls wanting pearls of their own. Pearls they could boss around and only have around as an accessory. Pearls that they couldn't even bother to treat with a single ounce of decency. But Thace wasn't an accessory. He had no master, even if he had to pretend he did. He had a better cause to serve, one that would free the Galra from their greed and have gems treat each other equally. For this, Thace continued to act as the ever obedient servant while never forgetting where his loyalty laid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might be wondering why Zarkon has more than one pearl. In this AU, I imagine diamonds having the power and authority to own more than one. I certainly think it's possible, especially since in Steven Universe, Peridot mentioned that there were hundreds of pearls back on Homeworld, implying that there's a high population of pearls. I don't think it would be far-fetched if Zarkon owned more than one then. 
> 
> I also went with making Thace a pearl because I feel pearls have an advantage as spies. Pearls are typically portrayed as being the only ones allowed in a space that's meant for private conversations, thus granting them access to knowledge that no one else would know. I felt that with Thace being a spy in Voltron, this would go hand-in-hand in his role. 
> 
> On a minor note, Prorok's gem location would be on his chin.


	12. Pidgance Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Pidge and Lance fuse, it spells trouble for the rest of the paladins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're going to notice a lack of Allura and Coran in this chapter. That's because I wrote this prior to figuring out what I wanted to do with them. Laziness is what prevents me from re-writing this drabble to include them, so let's pretend those two are away doing important diplomatic business somewhere, leaving the castle to the gems.

Down at the garage of the castle, Pidge was in the middle of modifying her ship for the next mission while Hunk was filling the tanks of the ships. It had been a slow, peaceful day. And then Lance came barging on.

“Ugh, I’m so bored,” the lapis lazuli said, leaning against Pidge’s ship.

Pidge looked up at him in annoyance. “Um, do you mind? I’m kinda busy with something.”

Lance looked down at her. “Are you adding a new game to your ship?”

“No,” Pidge answered. “Not yet,” she said under her breath before raising her voice again at an audible level, “I am in the middle of adding x-ray vision to my ship.”

“You mean like to see through people’s clothes?”

Pidge groaned. “No, to see through enemy ships. Why don’t you go bother Hunk?”

“Oh no, you don’t,” Hunk said from across the garage. “Don’t you dare try to pass him off to me.”

Lance sighed. “You guys are no fun. And here I was thinking we could hack into the castle’s computer system and watch a stream of Killbot Phantasm I.”

Pidge looked up at him. “Excuse me?” She turned away from him. “How do you even know someone’s streaming that game?”

Lance picked up his cellphone. “Because I have limited reception and a lets player I follow says he’s gonna show all the secret codes that can be added to the game.”

Pidge got up. “Well, what are we waiting for? Take me to the castle’s computer!” Pidge took a few steps before being pulled back by Lance.

“Yeah, that’s the problem. The reception box is currently locked up in a part of the castle I don’t know about.”

Pidge frowned. “Aw, man. And I was really hoping we could have seen that stream.”

Lance smirked. “Well, there is one way we can find the box. You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Uh….,”

Hunk looked over his shoulder, wanting to take part in the conversation. Unfortunately, he ended up spilling some of the oil on the floor and went to grab a mop from the closet.

“But aren’t we only suppose to do that when we have to sneak aboard an enemy ship?”

“Aw, c’mon, Pidge. Everyone else gets to fuse willy nilly, why can’t we?”

“Because Pidgance can literally bring this entire castle down.”

“Look, I promise you that we’ll unfuse as soon as we get to that box. It’ll just be a quick fusion.”

Pidge thought about it. On one hand, she knew it would be hard to maintain control over Pidgance. On the other hand, she did really want to see that stream especially since she couldn’t even play her own copy of the game in the castle. Plus, maybe Pidgance will allow her to get the information needed to build a setup to play video games. Pidge stood back.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

Hunk was finishing up mopping the mess when he saw Pidge and Lance moving their bodies. He thought it was weird. It looked almost as if they were dancing……

Hunk sprinted to their side of the garage.

“Guys, no!”

But it was too late. Pidge and Lance came onto one another and their bodies turned into light. The light shifted into a slender form, tall and scraggly. Out from the light was a body that had four legs, hair that was tied into two devilish pigtails, and a smirk that relished in bringing fear. This was Pidgance.

Pidgance looked down on Hunk.

“‘Sup, Hunk?” they asked as they poked his stomach.

“Guys, you can’t be serious,” Hunk put his hands over his head. “Why are you here?!”

Pidgance scoffed. “Pfft, how rude. I was just going to find that reception box.” They turned away from Hunk. “I suppose if I’m not wanted here, I should just bring Pidge and Lance back.”

Hunk sighed in relief. Pidgance smirked again, crawling back to him.

“Or, I can stick around and show you just how fun I can be,” Pidgance grabbed a hold of Hunk, carrying him in their hand as they walked on the walls.

Hunk squirmed in their grasp. “Hey, put me down!”

Pidgance waved Hunk in the air.

“No way. I wanna see if you puke!”

Pidgance threw Hunk up and down as if he were a ball. Hunk was starting to feel a bit queasy. He hated Pidgance’s sense of humor. He cried out one more time.

“Put me down, now!”

Pidgance looked at him curiously before shrugging. “Hm? Okay.”

However, Pidgance let Hunk fall down on a pile of tires. Hunk popped his head out, a tire covering his face. Pidgance laughed as they crawled away and entered one of the air vents. Hunk tried to call out to them, but he had no idea where they could have gone. Pidgance was always so quiet when they needed to be. He ran out of the garage, looking for Shiro.

  


Keith was in the training room, sparring with a robot. As he was kept on his toes, the robot suddenly stopped attacking. Keith looked at the robot in confusion. The red gem approached the robot, waving his hand in front of its face. He didn’t think the time limit he had set up was done. He walked past it, heading to the settings panel. What he didn’t expect was to receive a wedgie from the robot. Keith was lifted from the floor, the robot stretching his underwear. He attempted to free himself from its grasp, pushing himself over so he could do a flip and kick the robot in the ground. When the robot fell, Keith took every step with caution.

Keith went into the living room, where Shiro was reading.

“Shiro, I think something’s wrong with the training room.”

Shiro looked up from his book. “Hm? Why’s that? What happened?”

“One of the robots stopped moving, but when I turned around it gave me a wedgie.”

Shiro chuckled, standing up and heading to the sink.

“It’s not funny, Shiro,” Keith pouted.

“It kind of is,” Shiro said as he grabbed a glass cup. “I’m sure it was just Lance toying with the settings earlier. He did look rather bored the last I saw him.” As Shiro was about to pour himself some water, the sink started spitting out black goo. Shiro looked back. “What the? I got water this morning and it was working just fine.” Just then, the sink exploded and blurted out a flurry of black goo-iness everywhere, including Shiro’s head.

It was Keith’s turn to chuckle.

“Keith,” Shiro said sternly.

“What?” Keith shrugged. “It’s kind of funny.”

As Shiro frowned, Hunk bursted into the living room. Hunk saw the displeased look on their faces. He tapped his fingers together.

“Hey, guys, what’s up?” Hunk asked.

“Well, I got a wedgie from a robot and Shiro just got blasted with whatever this black stuff is. How do you think we’re doing?”

Hunk coughed. “Right, right. Uh…”

Shiro wiped himself off with a towel. “Hunk, if there’s something you want to tell us, go ahead. We won’t get mad.”

Hunk twiddled with his thumbs. “Okay, so…first of all, don’t panic. I happen to have an idea on what the source of your problems is.”

“And that would be…?” Keith asked.

“Alright, but first, we’re gonna need a bit of background,” Hunk said. “So, I was in the garage minding my own business as was Pidge. And then Lance came in and started talking to her, but I didn’t get the full gist of the conversation because I was preoccupied with filling the tanks of the ship. So, when I did see them again, I may have seen them fuse and-”

“THEY WHAT?!” Shiro screeched. “WHO LET THEM FUSE?!”

Keith rubbed his forehead. “Of course. Who else would it be?”

Hunk raised his hands. “Look, I’m really sorry. I had no idea that they would do this.”

Shiro took a deep breath. “It’s okay, Hunk. I know it wasn’t your fault.”

Keith went over to the cabinets. “I’ll go get the nets.”

“But when they unfuse, they are so grounded.”

  


The hunt for Pidgance was underway. All three gems carried large nets as they walked down the corridors of the castle. All was deathly quiet, everyone taking a careful step. There was a rustling sound heard, which caused Hunk to jump and fling his net over Keith. When he saw that the rustling was only the vibrations of the air going through the vents, Keith lifted the net off of him.

“Not every sound is going to be them,” Keith said, still clearly upset.

“Well, it could be them,” Hunk argued. “I mean, we know Pidgance can choose to be heard at any given time. For all we know, that was them giving us a warning to not go anywhere near them. I mean, that’s what happened last time and-”

“Hunk, be quiet!” Keith hissed as he and Shiro paused. More bumps were heard.

“Pidgance,” Shiro said, raising his net a little higher. “It’s me, Shiro.” There was no response. “Why don’t you come with us and we can talk in the living room?”

A fart noise echoed across the hall.

“C’mon, Pidgance. We’re all friends here. Can’t we just sit down and talk?”

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Pidgance’s voice echoed. “If I go with you, you’ll just try to break me apart! I ain’t going with you old geezers!”

Hunk gasped. “Pidgance, you, me and Keith are not that old. Shiro’s the only geezer here.”

“Thank you, Hunk,” Shiro said sarcastically.

“Well, you and Keith sure do love to act like geezers,” Pidgance responded. “Besides, all I did was pull a little prank. Where’s the harm in that?”

“You can get carried away with your pranks,” Keith reminded them. “Just come out now and we can do this the easy way.”

“Easy way? Hm….nah. I think I’d rather do this the fun way,” a hole was ripped out from the wall in front of them and out came flying shards of ice-covered lightning bolts. The team dodged the throws, but the shards hit a nearby pipe, which burst open and caused the gems to slip. Shiro tried to get up, but all he could see was the silhouette of the fusion that crawled away from the scene.

“Hey!”

“Catch me if you can,” Pidgance taunted, laughing all the way.

After walking through graffitied halls, Keith, Shiro, and Hunk retreated into a safety room in the castle where, hopefully, Pidgance wouldn’t get in. They spit out ideas on how to catch this rebellious fusion.

“We could get them to disagree with one another,” Hunk said. “Isn’t that how most fusions break?”

“You may be right, but Pidgance isn’t that easy to fool,” Shiro brought up. “They’re shifty, meaning they can tell when someone’s trying to con them.”

“I say all three of us fuse and bring Pidgance down,” Keith suggested. “We’d be a lot stronger than they are.”

“There’s still the matter of finding them,” Hunk pointed out. “We’d have to break apart the whole castle to get them out of hiding and that would lead to unnecessary damages.” Hunk picked up a broken piece of a speaker. “Well, more unnecessary damages.” The piece dwindled down into tinier pieces before their eyes.

All three sighed.

“You know, it might be possible to corner them,” Shiro said. “We can try and challenge them, in their territory. Make it look like we want to pick a fight. And then someone can come from behind and try to unfuse them.”

“Where would they be, though?” Keith asked.

“It would have to be somewhere both Pidge and Lance like,” Hunk said. He stood up. “I think I might know one place.”

  
  


Shiro, Hunk, and Keith entered a part of the castle that was meant for training, but was dubbed the unofficial laser tag arena. It was a maze, with the blocks popping up in different locations. If Pidgance could easily walk on walls, then that meant they would know where the gems were from a bird’s eye view, making it the perfect opportunity for them to strike. Shiro raised his arms.

“Pidgance,” he called out, “we aren’t here to capture you. We wanna play with you.”

“Oh?” Pidgance’s voice echoed. “What kind of game?”

Keith stepped forward. “We’ll play any game of your choosing. And we can make it more interesting.”

“How?”

“If we win, you have to unfuse. If you win, you can stay fused for as long as you want. And we’ll clean up your messes.”

“Hmm…...very well. The game I want to play is….whack a gem.”

“What?” Hunk asked before the lights were turned off. Hunk, Keith, and Shiro tried to stay close to one another, but two walls rose up, separating them. Hunk was shivering in fear. He pulled out his weapon, ready to aim it wherever Pidgance might show up. Unbeknownst to him, Pidgance was crawling along the walls of the maze, stalking him ever so slightly. Hunk bumped into something behind him. He turned around but didn’t see anything. As he was about to lower his weapon, a leg came up and kicked his weapon away, hitting the wall as the wall turned around. Hunk looked up at Pidgance’s face staring right at him.

“Boo,” Pidgance said.

Hunk screamed.

“Hunk!” Keith and Shiro said simultaneously. Although they were in different parts of the maze, they tried to rush over to where Hunk was. The walls kept moving. There was no way they would be able to reach Hunk while they were stuck in this maze. Keith got his weapon out and started slashing the walls to no avail. He grunted in frustration.

Hunk was within Pidgance’s grasp. He was in the same situation as earlier. And that most likely meant they were going to toss him around. Or worse, poof him.

“Whatever you’re gonna do, could you make it quick?” Hunk asked. “Please don’t torture me anymore than you have to.”

Pidgance chuckled. “My, and what fun would whack a gem be if I didn’t get to whack all of you at the same time?” Pidgance started to freeze Hunk’s body in ice. “Besides, it would have been more fun if my first catch was Keith. But I guess no one can go wrong with the team’s nice guy. Tell you what, since I like you, I’ll let you pick which scream we follow first.” Pidgance shot lightning out of their fingertips. The lightning bolts nearly struck Shiro and Keith, who were able to evade them. Pidgance crawled up to the ceiling, carrying Hunk in hand. Hunk concentrated on using his strength to break free of the ice. He then realized that if he was in Pidgance’s grasp, then that would mean his teammates would be able to hear him.

“Guys!” Hunk shouted. “Shoot in the direction you hear my voice!”

Shiro got out his gun. Pidgance glared at Hunk.

“Shut up!” Pidgance warned. “You’re ruining the game!” A blast was shot at Pidgance’s hand, forcing them to drop Hunk. Hunk broke free from the ice and power smashed to the ground. Another shot was made, this time to some controls that caused the lights to go back on.

All of the walls were lowered, Hunk, Keith, and Shiro staring up at Pidgance. Pidgance clenched their fists.

“Young fusion, get down from that ceiling this instant!” Shiro scolded.

Pidgance kept pacing about the ceiling. “No way! You can’t tell me what to do! No one can!” They laughed maniacally.

As they were distracted, Keith threw his sword straight at them, the sword piercing through them. Pidgance looked down in shock.

“Maybe you should listen to your elders,” Keith said.

Pidgance’s body couldn’t hold out any longer. They broke apart, Lance and Pidge falling from the ceiling screaming.

“Hunk, this way!” Shiro called. Hunk came dashing towards Shiro and the two of them fused to form Shunk.

Shunk caught Lance and Pidge in their arms, cradling them before they hit the ground.

“Are you hurt?” Shunk asked, raising the two of them with their top set of arms.

Lance and Pidge nodded, hugging Shunk and Shunk hugging them back. Keith looked on in disgust.

“Oh, my poor little gems,” Shunk said. “I’m so glad you’re safe. But if you’re not hurt, then you’ll have to talk to Shiro now.”

“Huh?” Pidge uttered before Shunk poofed, causing Pidge and Lance to fall on the floor. Hunk and Shiro had their arms crossed as they stared intently at the duo. “Ehehehe…..”

“Uh...you wouldn’t know where the reception box is, would you?” Lance asked nervously.

Shiro furrowed his brows. “Was that what all this was for? Why didn’t you just ask me?”

“Uh...because I was afraid you wouldn’t let me use it…..”

Shiro breathed out. “Pidge, Lance, you’re grounded. And the two of you can start your punishment by cleaning up this mess you made.”

“Yes, sir,” Pidge and Lance said simultaneously in defeat.

 

As they were cleaning, Pidge attempted to start up one of her bots to do the cleaning for her. Before she could even turn it on, Shiro came by.

“No bots,” Shiro said as he confiscated the bot. Pidge pouted. “Pouting isn’t getting you anywhere, missy.”


	13. Boost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk worries that he might be holding Keith back.

Hunk and Keith were up against Lance's water clones and Shiro as part of duo training. Pidge had managed to skip out due to Coran requesting her help in updating and modifying the particle barrier of the castle. Hunk wished he had been chosen to join her. Not that he was against training, especially if it meant he could become stronger, but because he was paired with Keith. Though Hunk would emphasize that he definitely didn't dislike Keith in the slightest. 

While Hunk was focused on trying to pin Shiro to the ground, a torrent of water came hurdling towards him, shooting him against the wall. Hunk shapeshifted his size to try and reduce the effect the water had on him. But then Lance shot water chains that attached themselves to Hunk's wrists, bringing him down with full force. Hunk tried to escape from Lance's grasp to no avail. That is, until Keith shot fireballs in Lance and Shiro's direction. Lance focused his attention to Keith, almost as if he were anticipating a fight with him rather than Hunk. Lance transformed the water into ice shards and started flinging them towards Keith. Keith deflected every ice shard with his sword as he ran up to Lance. Keith jumped up and swung his sword, fire emulating out of it. Lance tried to use water as a barrier of protection against the flames, but didn't realize Keith landed until he was kicked off balance and fell down. 

Shiro shapeshifted his arm into a plasma gun and started shooting at Keith. Keith dodged the attacks while Hunk was still awestruck by Keith's agility and endurance. Hunk snapped out of his trance and put his enlarged hand in between Keith and Shiro, hoping to protect Keith. But before Hunk could get a grasp on Shiro, he was met with a blast aimed closer to his eyes. Hunk immediately reduced back to his own size, covering his eyes. When he uncovered them, he could see Shiro and Keith fighting one on one. Shiro managed to hit Keith a few times, but Keith had been able to strike Shiro as well. The fight ended once Shiro was able to pin Keith down.

As they all exited the training room, Shiro squeezed Keith's shoulder tenderly.

"Good work out there," he said. "You've gotten better at your counterattacks."

"I have to if I want to ensure my protection," Keith responded.

Hunk shifted his gaze downwards. He looked at his palms before wrapping himself with his arms. The mood was alleviated with Lance's comment.

"No fair! How does fire beat water?!" Lance screeched.

"This isn't Pokemon, Lance," Keith said without looking at him.

"Yeah, well, the same rules apply in real life. Water puts out fire. Everyone knows that."

"You used ice to attack me. Fire melts ice."

"I didn't use solely ice."

"Alright, enough you two," Shiro said. "You all did good out there. If we keep up these practice battles, we should be ready for anything to save these planets from the Galra."

Hunk fell behind as he watched everyone else go on ahead. Shiro glanced over his shoulder and noticed Hunk looking uncharacteristically down. As Keith and Lance continued to bicker, Shiro slowed down his pace to be with Hunk.

"Hey, is everything okay?"

Hunk blinked. "Huh? Yeah, it's...it's all good." Hunk pointed his fingers to the left. "I'm gonna go bake something, if that's alright."

"Of course."

As Hunk turned and walked, Shiro spoke up again.

"The kitchen's the other way."

"Right," Hunk made a u-turn and sped walk to the kitchen.

 

Hunk furiously whisked the ingredients in the bowl when Pidge entered the kitchen, hopping on top of a nearby countertop.

"I heard I lucked out on training today," Pidge grabbed a spoon with mush on it and put it in her mouth. "Fighting against both Shiro and Lance would have been a pain. Although, I probably would have been on their team and would have fought against you and Keith. Then that would have been another set of problems."

"If by that you mean facing against only Keith, then sure, I see how I'd be in the way of a real fight."

Pidge put the spoon down. "What are you talking about?"

Hunk stopped whisking for a second. "Nothing." He added what he believed to be some sort of sweetener to the mix and stirred again. "Forget I said anything."

"Hunk," Pidge stared at him.

Hunk's face grew red before he slammed the bowl on the counter. "Okay, so like, I was totally the weakest part of training. Keith was able to take on both Lance and Shiro while all I did was stare and shapeshift." He opened up a cabinet door and pulled out a tray. "I mean, sure, we still lost to Shiro. Heck, Shiro didn't even have to fly to beat us. But Keith probably had a better chance at taking him down if I hadn't gotten in the way. Probably? What am I saying? Of course Keith had a better chance at beating Shiro without me." Hunk poured the contents of the bowl on to the tray. "I don't get it. I can fight pretty well when teamed up with just about anyone. You and I are almost always in sync, Lance and I are able to make up for what the other one lacks, and Shiro and I boost each other's strengths. But I don't seem to do anything for Keith. He's the one who does all the work. Maybe I'm just a hindrance to him."

Pidge put her hand over his. 

"You are not a hindrance to him," she assured. "Look, Keith's just a little harder to cooperate with compared to the rest of us. That doesn't make it your fault." She looked up at him. "I thought I would never be able to work with anyone, but being a part of this team has proved otherwise. And you were the first person to help me realize that."

Hunk clasped her hand in both his hands. "Yeah, I guess. I just worry that Keith might not like me. Or might not like working with me. I don't want to get in his way."

"And you aren't."

Hunk and Pidge turned their heads to the direction of the new voice. Shiro was standing at the doorway. 

"Shiro, how long have you been there for?" Hunk asked.

"I just got here. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I was worried about you." Shiro entered the kitchen and stood beside Hunk. 

Hunk let go of Pidge's hand as he turned his attention to Shiro. "I know my lack of special powers isn't anything new or that troubling. But what if that's not working for Keith. He can be paired with any of you and it would still be a force to be reckoned with. If he's with me, then it's not like it'd be any better than if he were alone."

"Hunk, you aren't doing anything wrong. And you don't lack anything that wouldn't help him. Keith is the type of gem that needs time to deepen his bond with others in order for the duo or group to flow better. Him spending time with all of you has already improved him in areas he probably hasn't realized." Shiro put his non-biotic hand on Hunk's cheek. "Don't let this deter you from working together with him. Use this as an opportunity to get to know him a little more. Maybe have him learn a little something about you."

Hunk smiled. "Thanks, Shiro."

"Paladins, we need you at the front deck immediately!" Allura's voice called out from over the intercom.

Pidge got off from the counter as she, Hunk, and Shiro ran out of the kitchen.

* * *

Everything was at the front deck of the castle, where they were shown their next destination. Allura pulled up a video feed of the planet's inhabitants being terrorized by a corrupted gem that was knocking down building structures. The monster was tall and lean, but with fists that resembled punching gloves and feet that were narrow and sharp. It lacked a mouth and it's eyes were narrowed, making it possible that it was attacking out of frustration. Whatever the case was, it was terrorizing the frightened, small beings that witnessed it's destruction with their single eyes. 

"I wouldn't doubt that this thing was dropped off on this planet to get rid of the inhabitants to make room for another kindergarten," Allura remarked. "We have to go in and save them."

"Alright, team, you're seeing what I'm seeing. Let's move out!" Shiro instructed as they all went into their pods and piloted their way to the planet. 

Upon landing, they got out of their pods and looked up at the fighting beast. The planet's inhabitants were screaming in terror and trying to run away. 

"Everyone, form Voltron!"

The team quickly formed together and fused into Voltron. Voltron looked down at the corrupted gem and fought against it. They summoned their cannon and blasted at the monster. However, the monster ran up to them and kicked cannon out of their grasp. They summoned their sword next, but the beast flicked that away as well. The monster threw punches and kicks at them, to which Voltron put their shield up in protection.

"What is with this thing? Why can't we use our weapons against it?" they asked themselves. They pushed the beast back, but it would not relent. If it had a mouth, it would have been screeching as it put it's fists down and looked up in the sky. "Wait a minute. I think I might know what it wants. What do you mean? Can't you see? This thing wants a fair fight."

The monster kicked down another building, looking more irritated than ever.

"Alright, then let's give it a fair fight. No weapons." Voltron got into a fighting pose. "I know it'll be harder for us to stay like this, but we have to try."

The beast came running towards Voltron, to which they put two of their palms on the creature's fists and used one of their lower hands for an uppercut. The beast didn't look as irritated, but still continued to fight them. As it kicked, Voltron kicked back harder. The fight was nearly won, but Voltron found it harder to stay coordinated.

"No, move left. I said left," they argued with themselves. In a flash, they unfused, the gems separating and falling to different parts of the terrain. 

The monster was quick to get back up. It made a kick in the ground, separating the team even further. Hunk got up and noticed Keith struggling to stand. He rushed to his side, offering a hand.

"Keith, buddy, you alright?" 

Keith hissed. "This monster's a lot tougher than I thought."

"It's alright, we can still beat it."

"I don't doubt that," Keith tried to get up on his own, "but I let myself slip up." He fell back down. 

"Keith!"

"I thought I was ready. When we trained this morning, I thought I was getting better at protecting my teammates. Guess I was wrong."

Hunk sat on his knees. "Keith, what are you saying? I was the one who messed up in training earlier. You needed me and I mostly spaced out. I didn't even use my size to my full advantage."

Keith looked at him. "Yeah, but I know you'll still have my back. Anyone's back, really." He shook his head. "I'm not like that. Or at least, I haven't been that way for anyone that wasn't Shiro."

"Dude, relax. You don't have to be perfect at it. You just gotta work with me," Hunk put his hand out. "And I need to learn to work with you, too. We're a team. Not strangers."

Keith took Hunk's hand with a smile. "Yeah." 

When their hands touched, a pillar of light surrounded them. From the light came a toned man who outstretched one of his three legs. His hair was tied back in a ponytail and he opened his four eyes as his orange belt waved from the wind. He looked over himself, confused and wobbly. However, he spotted the monster nearby and quickly balanced himself out.

"I don't know how I'm gonna work with three legs, but I can try," he uttered to himself. 

The monster came rushing towards him and the fusion kicked it in the torso. The kick was enough to throw the monster into the ground. 

"Woah," he said, amused. He took one step at a time with his legs, until he could feel the adrenaline pushing him to run. As the monster was getting up, he gave it a roundhouse kick, sending it back down on the ground. 

Shiro, Lance, and Pidge all rushed to the scene.

"You guys," Lance called out. He stared up at the new fusion. "Who are you supposed to be?"

The fusion put a hand on his elbow and a finger on his lips. 

"Hm...I think I like the sound of Heith," he responded.

"Well, whoever you are, we still need to take that thing down," Pidge pointed to the monster that got up again. 

The monster was once again running towards them, but Heith gave out another kick. This time, however, the kick was strong enough to poof the monster and have its gem fall down. Heith crouched down and tapped the upside of the gem, surrounding it in a bubble. He tapped the bubble and it went away. 

"I'm surprised you took that thing down with just a few kicks," Shiro commented. "You'll have to teach us a few moves if we want to be able to take down monsters easily like that as Voltron."

"Eh..well," Heith scratched their face before unfusing. 

Hunk and Keith looked at one another, unsure of what to say. Keith then put a fist in mid-air. Hunk stared down at it and then back at Keith, who was smiling.

"We did good out there," Keith said.

Hunk laughed. "Heck yeah we did!" 

They fistbumped each other before joining the rest of the team to check up on the local residents. The residents thanked them profusely for defeating the monster. Shiro told them of Allura, who would be landing the castle shortly. He then offered to have him and the rest of the team help out with repairs. Voltron came out again to fix everything and by the time they unfused again, they were greeted with a celebratory dinner as hosted by the planet's residents.


	14. Pidgance's Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not easy being considered an unstable fusion. Especially by your friends.

Outside of the enemy base, Shiro, Hunk, and Keith were hiding, anticipating for the return of their comrades. Or rather, the fusion of their comrades. 

“Are you sure it was a good idea to let them go off on their own?” Hunk whispered. “They could have gotten carried away with the sneaking around.”

“If they did, I’m sure this base would have blown up by now,” Keith said. “My main concern is getting them to unfuse.”

Shiro kept his eye on the opening that Pidgance went through. “It’ll be fine, guys. When it comes to the greater good, they know what not to do.”

Not long after, Pidgance’s head emerged from the opening. They crawled out and back with the group, holding a USB drive of sorts.

“All the commander’s dirty little secrets are in here,” Pidgance said as they handed the USB to Shiro. “There’s some stuff on the plans to use up this planet’s resources. But it was also fun to read his search history. Honestly, don’t these gems know how to delete their search history? They really aren’t the brightest gems in the universe.”

Shiro inserted the drive into his arm. “Regardless, I know it wouldn’t have been easy for any of us to sneak aboard that ship. You did a good job out there.”

Pidgance tried to hide their smile behind a nonchalant attitude. “Hey, as long as you let me have my fun, I don’t really care what you have me do.”

“Alright, well fun’s over,” Keith said. “Time for Pidge and Lance to come back.”

Pidgance crossed their arms. “Are you serious? You’re probably gonna still need me to infiltrate another base.”

“There aren’t any other bases left for you to get inside. We told you at the beginning of this mission that as soon as you got the data, you would have to split up.”

“Well, as a member of this team, I say I should stay a little longer in the event you need me again.”

“And for the safety of this team, I say you should unfuse!”

Pidgance towered over Keith. “You can’t tell me what to do!”

Keith summoned his sword. “Then I’ll break you apart myself!”

Shiro got in between the two.

“That’s enough!” he said. “There’s no need to get into a fight. Keith put your sword down.” Keith’s sword vanished. “And Pidgance, we had an agreement. You have to honor that agreement if you want to come out more often.”

“Pssh, why should I?” Pidgance asked, crawling back. “I never actually hurt anyone.”

“That’s a lie, and you know it!” Keith yelled.

Shiro struggled to keep the two apart.

“It’s not my fault you can’t take a joke!”

“Stop it! Both of you!” Shiro said. “You need to stop bickering or else we’re gonna get caught! You know the Galra won’t show mercy to a group with a defective gem.”

Pidgance moved away from Shiro’s arm.

“Defective?”

Shiro gently motioned his arms up and down.

“Pidgance, I wasn’t talking about you,” he tried say.

Pidgance clenched their fists before crawling away from the group. Hunk looked in their direction.

“Should we go after them?” Hunk asked.

Shiro sighed. “Let’s give them some space. After that, I’ll search for them.”

“But will they be alright?”

“They won’t get caught if that’s what you’re asking.”

Keith put a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “Shiro, it’s not your fault. Pidgance can get a little emotional, ya know?”

Shiro shook his head. “No, I should have been more careful with my words.” He lifted his hand up. “Even if I was referring to myself.”

  
  


Pidgance put a finger atop a pond, ripples forming from their touch. They sighed. 

“Stupid Shiro,” they muttered. “Stupid team. They can’t see how great I am!” They slammed their fist down on the puddle. They stared at their clenched up hand before loosening it up. “But maybe they have a point. I’m the only fusion on the team that’s not allowed to come out on regular days. No, it’s their fault. I’m just having fun. And yet, no one seems to want to have fun with me.”

“Pidgance!” Shiro called out.

Pidgance lowered their upper body to the ground, lying low in the ground. They stared up, Shiro not being too far from them.

“Pidgance, please come out,” he said. “I want to apologize.” He leaned back against a tree. “Look, about what I said earlier, you should know that I would never call any of my teammates defective. I was referring to myself when I said ‘defective.’” He looked down at his hand before staring off into the distance. “Pidgance, I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I ever hurt you or made you feel wrong. I would never want the people I care about to feel like that.”

Pidance lifted their head slightly, still out of view from Shiro.

“You should know that you are an important part of this team. If there was anything wrong with you, then we wouldn’t be able to form Voltron. You can’t forget that you’re a part of a gem that’s bigger than all of us. And one that can do anything they set their mind to. But we need to learn to control our powers. As gems, we’re a lot stronger than most living beings in the universe. I would like it if one day, when you’re in control of your power, you could come out inside the castle and spend time with us. I’d really look forward to that.”

Shiro looked down as he heard rustling underneath. He could see Pidgance’s head and torso emerge from the grass, their lower body also coming into view. Pidgance was teary-eyed and pulled Shiro in for a hug, lifting him up.

“For the record,” they said, “you’re not defective, either.”

Shiro returned the hug, patting their back. “Thank you.”

Pidgance pulled Shiro away. “Would you like a lift back to the others? This time, I really will unfuse when we get there.”

Shiro smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Pidgance placed Shiro on their back, Shiro seated on their elongated lower body. Pidgance turned around.

“I don’t know if I’ll be this mushy the next time I come out. Is that a problem for you?”

Shiro put his arms around them. “Not at all.”

Pidgance smiled back, turning away from him and beginning the journey back to the rest of the group.


	15. Bitter Rivalry and Bitter Companionship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance seem to be butting heads more than usual. But can they overcome their rivalry for one moment to take down a monster?

Allura, Coran, and Shiro were going over footage of corrupted gems that were terrorizing specific planets or left to guard something that looked important to Zarkon Diamond when they heard a crash. They rushed to see what the cause was, leading them to the training room, whose doors were lying on the floor. What shocked them was that the training room had been covered in ice and ashes. At opposite ends were Keith and Lance, looking worn out and ready to attack. 

The day had started off innocently enough. It began at breakfast, where Hunk took it upon himself to cook breakfast for everyone. As Allura took a bite out of her dish, her smile widened.

"This tastes great, Hunk!" she remarked. "For a species that doesn't need to eat, you certainly know how to make something so mouth watering."

Hunk blushed. "Aw, well...I've had years of practice."

"Is that what Earth gems do to pass the time?" Coran asked.

"Well, it's one of the things we can decide to do. But when you have thousands of years with nothing to do, you learn to pick up on a lot of things."

"I see," Coran continued eating with glee.

Lance grabbed a tube on the table and placed its contents on his plate. Coran perked up. 

"Lance, no!" he warned. "That's dangerous for anyone to eat!"

"Pfft, as if this will actually kill me," Lance said as he put the tube back. "I'm a gem. I can eat anything without any consequence. I'm not that easy to kill."

"If you weren't a gem, you would have died a long time ago," Keith said.

"Oh yeah? You would have, too, especially since we're thousands of years old!"

"At least I would have died of old age."

"And I would have died being awesome!"

"Alright, that's enough," Shiro wiped his mouth with a napkin. "No bickering at the table."

Keith pressed his fork down on the food, while Lance continued to glare at him.

"You know, you probably couldn't handle this stuff," Lance stuffed his mouth with the dangerous contents. "It'd be too much for you."

Keith made his arm longer to grab the tube and fill his food with its contents. When he was done, he took a big bite and returned the glares to Lance. They both took huge bites out of their dishes. After their final swallow, they stared each other down. And then their faces turned green and rumbles were heard. They dashed out the dining room and went into bathrooms, never to be heard from for the rest of the morning.

 

By the afternoon, their bodies were back to normal. Or they would have been if Keith hadn't been trying to reach for something on a top shelf. Lance noticed this and walked right over, easily grabbing the item Keith needed. He smirked.

"Aw, how cute," Lance mocked. "You can't reach the top shelf on your own." He pointed a finger at Keith.

Keith furrowed his brows. "I can shapeshift you know."

"Yeah, but I'm still taller than you, you itty bitty gem."

Keith concentrated his energy on his physical form, and grew in height. He became a few inches taller than Lance.

"You were saying, little gem?" Keith looked down.

Lance huffed before shapeshifting himself to be taller than Keith again. Keith in turn increased his height. And then Lance. And then Keith. Lucky for them, they were in the middle of a hallway, where the ceiling was pretty high already. Unfortunately, they kept at it until they hit their heads on the ceiling. Once they were too tall for the halls, they struggled to remain comfortable, their limbs entangled in the hall. Lance shot a look at Keith.

"Still...taller...," he managed to say before their bodies gave out. The two were lying on the floor, their arms and legs becoming loopy like and extending all across the floor. Pidge entered the hallway, staring down at them before walking over their limbs.

 

It then boiled down to the two of them using the training room together. They were fighting their own bots, but neither found it very challenging. 

"You tired yet?" Lance asked.

"Nope," Keith answered as he kicked another bot down. "But if you are, you're free to leave."

"Hah, as if I'd give up so easily," Lance flung his finger, a gust of water spiraling his bot into the air before it crashed back down. "I bet I could take on a hundred of these things and not break a sweat."

"I think the only way I'd believe that is if you beat me," Keith said without looking back at Lance.

Lance put a hand on his hip. "Excuse me? Is that a challenge?"

"Challenge would imply that there's difficulty," Keith threw his sword at a bot's chest. "Which, I guess in your case, would be fitting."

Before Keith could retrieve his sword, he felt something wet on his ankle. Before he could turn around, he was dragged across the room and flung against the wall.

"Wanna run by that me again?"

And so, the two ultimately duked it out in the training room. Lance summoned his sniper to shoot continuously at Keith while Keith deflected the shots with his sword. They used their respective elements to attack each other. These attacks were exemplified to their highest levels, causing an internal storm within the training deck. Thus, it really wasn't that unexpected that the training room was left in such devastation.

 

The team was assembled in the lounge, Keith and Lance sitting across from each other and staring daggers at the other. Hunk and Pidge sat in between them, confused as to why they were all there. Shiro and Allura stood before them with disappointed looks in their faces. 

"It's clear that we need to discuss rivalries in this group," Shiro said. "Now, I don't mind a little friendly competition among one another. But there needs to be a limit. And it certainly shouldn't go to the point of damaging one of the very rooms that our host has so graciously lent us."

"Yeah, Keith. Stop being a fire hazard," Lance said.

"You think I'm the hazard?!" Keith barked. "You're the one using up all the water in the castle!"

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Enough!" Allura shouted. "Here you are, ageless gems acting like children. You should be ashamed at your behavior. You're supposed to be part of the fusion that makes Voltron for crying out loud."

Just then, the alarms went off. 

"Everyone to the front deck immediately!" Coran's voice cried out over the intercom.

"We're not done discussing this," Shiro reprimanded before he and the others went to see what was going on.

 

Coran showed them the live feed of the chunks of ground that was being thrown out of a planet. Upon zooming in on the source, it was a behemoth of a monster with huge arms that resembled scoopers, flinging the dirt out of the planet's atmosphere and into space. The planet didn't look inhabited, although there was a huge stone monument that remained intact. 

"Whatever that monument is, it must be important to Zarkon Diamond," Allura deduced. "And if it's important to him, then it must clue us in on how we can take him down."

"Alright, team. We're heading down!" Shiro said as he and the others got on their pods and piloted towards the planet. 

They parachuted out of their pods as soon as they were within the planet's atmosphere, looking down at the beast.

"Man, how are we gonna get that tablet?" Hunk asked. 

"I think we may need a distraction," Shiro said. "Keith, you and Lance try to get that thing's attention. Hunk, Pidge, and I will retrieve the stone."

"Got it," Keith nodded.

As they went their separate ways, Lance was the first to summon his weapon and fire at the monster. Except he wasn't hitting it as his shots were fired aimlessly in the air.

"What kind of shots are those?" Keith asked. "I thought you were supposed to be a marksman."

"Shiro just said we had to distract it," Lance made clear as his weapon dissolved. "We don't actually have to beat it."

"It'd be easier if we did."

The monster came towards them, but Keith summoned a fire wall. However, it effortlessly bypassed the wall and started smashing towards them. It was Lance's turn to question Keith's actions.

"Did you really think that would work?!"

"I thought it would be afraid of fire."

"It's a monster not a caveman!"

The monster pounded its arm between them. He looked through the lenses to try and find the monster's weak point. He was able to pinpoint a soft spot under the monster's chin. He started firing at it, but the monster protected its weak point. It flung mounds of dirt towards him. As Lance screamed, Keith jumped over to him, and the two rolled away. Keith looked back at the monster.

"We need to search for Hunk," Keith said. "He's strong enough to withstand this thing's attacks." 

Before Keith could leave, Lance took a hold of his arm.

"Wait."

Keith looked back at Lance.

"What if we fused?" Lance suggested. 

"What?"

"I know it's weak point," Lance revealed. He pointed to the monster, whose folds were currently exposed. "If we can hit it underneath it's neck, we might be able to stop it. But we can't do it separately." He sighed. "I know it's a risky move. And I can't guarantee we'll be in full control. But it's our only shot right now."

Keith glanced back and forth from the monster and Lance. He didn't know if it was the right choice. But Shiro had entrusted him and Lance to take care of the beast for a reason. He extended his arm to Lance.

When Lance grabbed a hold of it, they fused. 

Klance stood tall, a tuft of hair covering the left side of his face so that only two of his eyes were exposed. Two hands were on his hips as the other two were pumped up fists and he laughed to reveal his fanged teeth. He stretched to expose his ripped pants and glared at the monster.

"You got a lotta nerve showing your face around here," Klance said as he summoned a sword and knife combined weapon. He blasted the weapon off at the enemy, before freezing the ground, keeping the monster in place. Klance wielded the weapon and struck the monster with the tip of his blade, causing the monster to disappear. 

Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge came running up to Klance, the tablet in tow. Hunk and Pidge looked up at him nervously.

"Uh, Shiro," Pidge spoke up, "should we get them to unfuse?"

Shiro called out to Klance. "Klance!"

Klance gave a side glance. He got rid of his weapon and crouched down to be at eye-level with the others. 

"'Sup, Shiro? Need me to destroy something else?" Klance punched his palms. He took a look at the tablet. "How about that rusty old thing you got there? We get rid of it now, Zarkon will have one less precious item to own."

"Not gonna happen," Shiro told him. "We still need to figure out what this holds."

Klance rolled his eyes. "Typical Shiro. Who cares what it holds? We can crush that thing right now and be one step closer to defeating Zarkon!" Klance dug up a piece of the ground and crushed it up to flames, turning it into ashes. Pidge and Hunk jumped. 

Shiro remained calm. "Alright."

Hunk and Pidge stared at him. "Shiro?!" they both hissed under their breaths.

Shiro put an arm out to them. "You wanna destroy it, go ahead."

Klance grinned. Before he picked the tablet out of Hunk's arms, Shiro continued.

"And what if this tablet holds the secrets to Zarkon Diamond's power?" Shiro asked. "Or the limitations of his power?"

Klance came to a hault.

"Are you going to be able to take Zarkon Diamond down on your own? Without knowing his weakness?"

Klance retreated their hand and pouted.

"Well?"

"...No," he grumbled.

"Then?"

Klance gave a loud sigh. "Fine....I won't destroy the tablet." 

Shiro gave an approving nod. "Good." He started ahead. "Everyone, let's get back to the castle to see what this means."

"For the record," Klance spoke up again, "this was all Keith's idea. What?! Stop blaming me!"

Klance broke apart as Keith and Lance landed on the ground shouting at each other.

"Stop blaming me for everything!"

"You're the one that destroys first and asks questions later!"

As they kept bickering, Pidge ran next to Shiro.

"Should we drag them back to their pods?" 

Shiro looked over his shoulder before looking back at Pidge.

"Mmm, let them get it out of their system. I'd rather they exert their fighting energy now on a planet where they can't hurt anybody than back on the castle where they can cause more damage. Besides, they still need to be punished for ruining the training room and one of the castle halls."

"Personally, I'm not sure if there's any hope of those two really getting along," Hunk commented.

"I don't know, Hunk," Shiro responded. "They did take down that monster together. I think it'll take time, but they'll get there."

* * *

Unbeknownst to the team, there was a spy out on the distance, watching Klance fight and the others take the tablet. The spy wore an armored body suit and had a helmet on to conceal their identity. Once they saw everyone leave, they pressed on some buttons that were on their arm. Up popped a holographic video feed. 

On the other side of the feed was Ezor, with a huge grin on her face as usual. It looked as though she was on the top steps of the palanquin, with flowing purple curtains hanging from behind her and dripping down.

"Ring a ding ding, you've reached the Direct Diamond Communication Hub."

The spy pressed the top of their helmet to reveal themselves as Acxa.

"Oh, Acxa!" Ezor clapped her hands together. "How's the mission going? Have you seen anything worth telling? What planets have you been on? Give me the full details."

"It's good to see you, too, Ezor," Acxa replied. "But I must speak with Lotor Diamond immediately."

"Doesn't everybody?" Ezor giggled. 

"Ezor." Lotor's voice called out.

Ezor's smile faded, replaced by an innocent o-shaped mouth.

"Yes, my Diamond?" Her head was facing up.

"Who is on the line?"

Ezor regained her smile. "It's Acxa, my Diamond. She said she has to speak to you as soon as possible."

"Well, I am here. Bring the feed up to me."

Acxa could see Ezor hopping up the steps, pushing aside the drapes and entering the throne of Lotor Diamond. Lotor picked up the feed from Ezor, bringing it closer to his upper body. He stared back at Acxa with his golden eyes, and his white hair flowing down behind his shoulders. He had a breast plate with elegant sleeves that surrounded his shoulders. While Lotor was not up the same grand scale as Zarkon, he still came off just as intimidating and powerful as a diamond should be. Acxa was quick to salute him.

"My Diamond, I would like to give my status report if you'll allow it."

Lotor smiled and nodded. "Proceed."

"The Earth gems have come to the planet that held Zarkon Diamond's secrets to the experiments he has had Haggar perform on him," Acxa explained. "There was a corrupted beast guarding it, but the gems chose not to form Voltron. Instead, two of their members fused and took down the beast on their own. I know not what they're playing at, but it doesn't seem like Voltron is their immediate choice of fusion."

"How interesting," Lotor put his hands together. "And yet there have been sightings of Voltron across my father's bases?"

"Yes, my Diamond. I believe more observation is needed to better determine their pattern of fusing."

"I couldn't agree more. Very well. Report to me when you see Voltron in action. In person."

"Understood. I will not fail you." 

"I trust you won't. Be careful and do not get caught."

With that, the hologram disappeared. Acxa put her helmet back on and got on her ship. She evacuated the planet and cruised over to the same direction the castle was heading.


	16. Strange Familiarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins come across an abandoned gem site. They each find pieces to its purpose, all the while raising more questions as to what was going on.

The paladins were surprised at the moss and weeds that overran the facility building. It had been nightfall and the faint lighting of the planet's ever present pink sky made the building stand out even more. A mountain was right behind the building, with the two being extremely close in height. Hunk took a step back.

"Guys, I don't think going in there is such a good idea," he shook. "Do we really have to investigate this place?"

"This is where the monster has been seen retreating to," Keith glared at the entryway. "If we want to make sure the inhabitants of this planet can sleep at night, we're gonna have to go in."

"Keith's right," Shiro added. "Better to take that thing down and bubble it away so it doesn't hurt anyone else." Shiro's gem glowed to illuminate the path to go inside. 

Going inside did nothing to quell Hunk's fears. The floor, too, had been overrun by weeds, and the deteriorating state of the building's walls was more visible with patches of brown and black in every corner. What appeared to be the lobby area had five different paths for one to take.

"Just our luck," Shiro commented. 

"Please don't tell us we have to split up," Hunk begged.

"Not individually," Shiro assured. He dimmed down his light. "Pidge and I will go this way, while you and Lance take the West wing. Keith, you can decide who you want to go with."

Keith shrugged his shoulders. "I don't mind going down this path on my own," he pointed to the middle hall.

"Are you sure? This place could be dangerous."

"Yeah, Keith, I say you should stick with one of us," Hunk put his hands on Keith's arms.

Keith gently took his hands off. "I'll be fine. It's better for us to cover as much ground as possible."

"Oh, sure. Go off on your own to prove your a big gem," Lance shook his hands.

"Lance," Shiro scolded before taking Keith's gem hand and planting a kiss on it. "Just make sure you let us know if you see anything."

Keith smiled. "I will."

* * *

Lance and Hunk walked down a hall that had every room open. There were cracks around the borders, and ripped pieces of paper that were illegible to tell what they were even for. The floor looked as if it had been smooth at one point, but was now ruined thanks to the dirt that covered it all. Combined with the white paint that was peeling off, the gems were reminded of an Earth hospital. Hunk shivered behind Lance, holding on to Lance's shirt.

"Hunk, please. Personal space."

"I'm sorry," Hunk said without letting his hand go, "this place just gives off a very bad vibe. I don't like it here."

"We can't let fear get in the way of finding that monster." Lance peaked into every room they passed. "Now, if I was a monster, where would I be hiding?"

He stopped in front the third room before the end of the hall. The two stepped inside, with Lance using his gem as the flashlight to give them sight. There was a broken down table and stone pillars. There were no chairs or any sort of seating with the exception of one. It was a large throne, one that could make even Hunk and Lance's fusion pale in comparison, adorned in worn-out silver with diamond patterns from top to bottom.

"Oh man," Lance breathed softly.

"Is this..."

"...Zarkon Diamond's." 

"D-do you think Zarkon Diamond is nearby?"

Lance wiped the dust and dirt that accumulated at the throne. "I doubt it. It looks like he hasn't been here in years. The question is, what was this place and why was it abandoned?"

"Do we really have to ask that?"

There was a thud on the floor. The gems turned around to see nothing. 

"Oh no, what if he really is here? What if he sent drones to come get us?!"

Lance put his hands on Hunk's shoulders. "Hunk, calm down! I doubt Zarkon Diamond even knows we're here." He gestured to the room. "Can you imagine how old this whole place must be? It's no wonder we're hearing things." He summoned his sniper. "But that also means we need to be extra careful, too."

Hunk brought out his cannon and nodded. As the two stepped out of the room, Lance felt his foot step on something squishy. He lifted his foot up, groaning at the ooze that was stretched out. 

"Oh, great," he rolled his eyes. He shook the ooze off, but it detached itself from him as if it were sentient. Lance raised an eyebrow and followed his gaze to where the ooze was headed. From the shadow of the former throne was a behemoth figure with a single glowing purple eye that raised its limbs. Lance aimed his fire at the beast's figure, Hunk following suit. However, their attacks did nothing as the creature, still silent, approached the two and came out of the shadow. It flung it's limbs at the duo, but they dodged it and still kept shooting. Lance closed his eyes and replaced his sniper with a new one. With a deep breath, he shot at the creature again, this time with ice particles coming out. The ice was shot at the monster's body, doing little damage. Lance then aimed for the monster's eye. The aim was successful, but that did not stop the creature from reaching them. 

Hunk made his body bigger and took a hold of the limbs. He tried to squeeze the monster out of existence, but instead it managed to cover his fists. Hunk tried to take it off with his feet, but was saved by Lance holding the monster up in a bubble of water. 

"How long do you think you can hold it for?" Hunk asked.

"I think for a while," Lance said as he held the thing up in place. "But if I want to keep it imprisoned for long, I don't think I can leave."

"Lance, no. We have to find the others together."

"Hunk, it's fine. Just tell them to come here. We'll deal with this thing more then."

"But-"

"Hunk!" Lance's arm shook. "It's really hard to concentrate if you're still here. Please, go."

Hunk tried to reach out to Lance, but backed away. "Just don't do anything that could get you hurt." He went back to his original size and started looking for the others.

* * *

Pidge and Shiro walked down the nearly barren hall. Whatever colors that filled this hall had been lost to the passage of time. All that remained was an entryway to a suspicious looking room. To Pidge and Shiro's surprise, it appeared to be an old-styled gem lab, one that was most likely used to analyze whatever findings would be brought in. There was more than one control panel and most of the screens attached to the walls were cracked. There were cabinets that were meant to hold important data and a mural of a gem shard emulating power to a variety of old gem tech. 

"Woah, I haven't seen any of this stuff in years," Shiro commented as he opened one of the cabinets to reveal its empty contents. He gave a disappointed frown as Pidge walked over to one of the panels. It was much higher than her, so she got on her tiptoes to press one of the buttons that turned on a screen. 

The screen showed the two a map of the galaxy, some planets shown in full, with tabs on the upper left hand corner. 

"Hey, I recognize some of these planets," Pidge pushed up her goggles. "We've already visited half of these planets." There were notes on the side of the planets. "Glittering water? On Taizana? I thought that was a desert planet?"

"This must have been before the Galra Empire's expansion," Shiro opened up one of the tabs. What came next was an image of an injector and a list of the chemicals and materials to put inside the tube and a formula that equaled to an image of a blue gem and its list of properties. "See. Taizano, for example, was used to produce aquamarines until there were enough made." He opened another tab, this time one that revealed the requirements for securing a kindergarten. "This place can't be that old," Shiro scrolled through the page. "The Galra had already secured kindergartens before their empire's expansion. Why would they need to have a rundown on how to do it again?"

"Maybe they were finding more ways to create gems?" 

"Maybe." He clicked open the next tab, which had data and formulas for generating weapons. It seemed like the basic, standard weaponry until it reached weapons that haven't been seen before. "What the?" Shiro enlarged one of the images of said weaponry and its design resembled that of a spear with two heads. What made it stand out, however, was that it listed the gems that it was most powerful against versus the ones it did little damage to. 

"It looks like these were prototypes that never got past their beta stages," Pidge examined. "I bet if I had this kind of information and could tweak it, I could help boost our weapons to help fight against the Galra."

"Good idea."

"But I'm gonna need a place to store it all."

Shiro looked around the room before holding his arm up. He smiled. 

"Why not store it in us?" He raised his hand.

Pidge smiled back at him and the two fused, revealing a figure with three eyes and a biorobotic arm. They put their hand on the panel, typing away on their left hand. The files were being transferred over, Shidge keeping a close look at their surroundings. Nothing seemed to be too out of the ordinary, and they brought their attention back to the screen. They talked to themselves about how they could use these formulas to enhance each of the team's weapons and look in admiration at some of the old technology that was passing by. 

Their eyes gleamed at the possibilities and knowledge they would obtain from such old files. It gave them something to obsess over and study. But what ended up catching their eye was a file on something called the Looking Glass.

"Huh?" They hovered over it and read it's description. It was an item that could be used to track down anyone that the user seeks. They gasped. "Matt." After the files were transferred over, they typed away again and set up a connection from the room to the broader, more current internet. The speed was a little slow and wavering, but they tried to connect to a nearby Galra provider to find the Looking Glass' whereabouts. They knew that Zarkon Diamond wouldn't give up an item like that so easily. It had to be known somewhere. Just then, they felt something dripping on their head. They looked up to see driplets coming out of a gooey like substance. 

"That wasn't there before," they squinted. Just then, the thing opened something up to reveal two rows of sharp teeth. It stretched its neck forward, continuing to drool on them. Shidge raised their left arm and summoned their katar, but looked back at the screen. "We can't leave. Not yet," they whispered. 

The screen was still searching for a connection, a way into confidential Galra lines. But the creature moved closer to them, letting out feral noises and twirling its tongue. 

"Please, we have to stop this thing now before it leaves and hurts innocent lives again," Shidge's biorobotic arm glowed. "No, we can't. If we can find out where the Looking Glass is, we can find countless lost souls. We can find Matt and Sam."

The creature closed its mouth, tilting its head back, and then spit out a large portion of drool that hurled towards them. 

"I'm sorry," Shidge unfused, Shiro pushing Pidge out of the way as he turned his arm into a catcher like tool and swung the drool back at the monster. The monster cried as Shiro shot out a net from his arm, keeping the thing bound to the ceiling. 

"I don't know how much that net can keep that thing together. Pidge, go look for the others. We might be able to secure it if we form Voltron."

Pidge nodded and sprinted out of there.

 

Pidge and Hunk ran from their respective rooms, and conveniently without light. When they bumped into each other, Hunk freaked out.

"Ah, who's there?!" His teeth chattered before summoning his weapon. "Show yourself."

Pidge used her gem to brighten the room, her face relieved to see that she had bumped into Hunk.

"Pidge!" Hunk smiled. 

"Hunk!" Pidge gleamed.

The two ran up to one another again, this time with Hunk lifting Pidge up. 

"I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me, too." She looked behind him. "Where's Lance?" 

"He's trying to keep a monster under control, but he needs help. We don't know how long he can keep it cooped up in that bubble."

"This might be a problem," Pidge looked back at the hall she came from. "Shiro wants us all to meet up so we can stop the monster we caught."

"There's more than one?!" 

"Afraid so." Pidge noticed Hunk's watery eyes. She put a hand on his cheek. "Hey, it's okay. We'll get through this."

"I don't know if I can."

She rubbed underneath his eye. "We'll do it together."

Hunk sighed, bringing her closer and fusing with her to become Hidge.

* * *

Keith pushed open the door that was at the end of his path which led to the outside world. The grass was long and wild, but it could not hide just how close the mountains really were. He made his way through the tall grass, using his sword to clear his way. He kept his eyes and ears open, very much aware that the monster could come out and attack him at any point. He cut down the last of the grass to be met with a gate. He perked up, confused as to why there would be a gated door in the first place. He barely touched it as it fell over and he was met with the base of the mountain.

He continued to tread carefully. He made his sword glow with heat as he continued to walk forward. Just then, he heard a rock tumble down. When he turned to see where it came from, he saw a fully armored person on top of a hilly base. The figure looked down at him.

"Who are you?" He asked, lifting his sword higher. 

The figure didn not respond. Instead, they jumped down from behind. 

"Wait!"

Keith chased after the figure. He growled to himself, getting the feeling that this person was potentially behind the monster attacks. He didn't know how, but something was telling him that he had to apprehend them. Just as he catched up to them, he heard a beeping noise. He looked up at the rocky terrain and spotted a bomb that was placed. The bomb was set off, sending Keith back.

He planted his sword down, using it to get back up. The figure was gone.

"Of course."

As he stood up, he hit his head. 

"Ow," he looked up and rubbed his head, only to find that he had landed in a hollow hole. His mouth hung open. He crouched and walked out of the hole slowly, looking back once he got out. What he saw was a row of holes along the mountain, all varying in height.

"A kindergarten?" 

He walked past each of the holes, trying to see inside each one. One would normally assume that this was a beta kindergarten. One that, for reasons only known to the Galra, was abandoned. But even so, something seemed off about this particular one. When he got to the end, he noticed that there was something off. The second to last hole was a bit misshapen, sure, but the very last one didn't resemble any sort of lifeform figure. In fact, it was arched in such a way that it seemed like a piece of this mountain had been pulled out. Keith patted the rocky hole, but he didn't know why. 

He was snapped out of his trance as he heard something coming from the building. Keith kept looking at that hole before he forced himself to turn away and go aid the others.

* * *

Lance couldn't hold the monster in his bubble anymore. As the monster escaped, Lance ran away, crying out for help. He put up an ice barrier to subdue the goo monster, which seemed to work for the time. He was back in the lobby, where Hidge was cramming an old rod down their second mouth.

"Hidge?"

Hidge quickly swallowed the rod. "Lance, what happened?"

"Why," he shook his head before giving them an answer, "I couldn't hold it for long."

"Hold what for long?" Shiro came out.

"Shiro? What about your monster?" Hidge asked.

"Your monster?! You mean there are two?"

"Seems like it," Shiro said. "Looks like we'll really need to become Voltron if we want to take them down." He scanned the room. "Where's Keith?"

Just then, tiny specks of ice hopped down the hall and the ooze monster came out. And immediately after, the chomper like monster emerged as well. The monsters looked on at the gems. They moved slowly towards them. Luckily, Keith bursted in and summoned fire rings around the creatures, catching up with his friends.

"Are these the things that have been terrorizing the planet?" 

"I wouldn't doubt it," Shiro answered. "Now that we're all here, it's time to synchronize."

They all nodded. With their unique dance they merged together and Voltron stood tall, looking down at the monsters with ease. However, the monsters put up quite the fight as the ooze monster latched itself onto one of their arms. Voltron tried to stretch it out, but it kept staring at them with its single eye, never giving up its hold on them. With one of their upper arms, they punched a hole in the ceiling and slung the ooze creature out of their grasp. 

They then picked up the chomper monster and threw them up as well. The monsters seemed to mesh together as Voltron summoned a cannon and shot electric balls at them. The blast was strong enough to send them hurdling to the mountain base, where their physical forms were quick to dissolve. It only took Voltron a few steps to find the gems and bubble them away. After they did, they spotted the armored figure. 

"It's them," they said under their breath. "Who? Are they a monster, too?"

Voltron broke apart, with Keith looking back at the direction of the figure. But when he did, they were gone once more.

"Keith, did you know that person?" Shiro crouched down with him.

Keith blinked. "I don't think so."

"Was it a monster?" Lance asked again.

"I doubt it. They didn't attack me." Keith stared out at the mountain and at the path that led to the small kindergarten.

Shiro brought Keith back up. "Come on. We should get back to the castle."

* * *

Keith lied down in bed, staring at the ceiling. He put his hand out, turning it over to examine his gem. He felt a piece of himself at that place, but he didn't know why.

There was a knock on his door. When he answered it, Shiro was there.

"Shiro?"

"May I come in?"

Keith moved out of the way, the door closing behind Shiro.

"Are you feeling alright?" 

Keith sighed and sat back down on his bed. "I don't know. Something about that place felt off."

"You weren't the only one feeling that way. I think everyone was a little scared to be there. I know that place brought back some memories for me."

Keith looked up at him with concern. "Bad memories?"

Shiro folded his arms. "Worse: normal memories. It reminded me of when such facilities were a normal part of my old missions."

"Before you joined the rebellion, right?"

Shiro nodded. "It was thousands of years ago. And yet, being there, I swear I could have been in that building yesterday." He looked ahead. "Not that specific one, of course. But something similar. Just a routine for me to go and work with other higher class gems."

"That was a place for high class gems?"

"Considering that Lance and Hunk came across an old throne fit for a diamond, it most likely was." Shiro put his shoulders down. "And I have to go back there to get some more data we came across. Data that could help us find anyone that went missing under the Galra's invasion."

"Are you referring to the human and peridot that were supposed to go with you to Kerberos?"

Shiro chuckled. "Stop asking for clarification on things you already know," he poked Keith's forehead before sitting next to him. "But it's not just them. I know there are many others we need to find as well. And when the time is right, we'll have to use it to track down Zarkon Diamond as well."

"I guess." Keith fumbled with his hands.

Shiro pulled Keith closer to him, resting his chin on Keith's head. 

"I think you need to rest. I can tell you have a lot on your mind."

Keith pushed his nose to Shiro's neck. "I can't. I don't want you to have to be just as confused as I am."

"Keith, I'm already confused by a lot of things. I don't think whatever's on your mind is gonna deter me and start giving me a crisis."

"Aren't you already in a crisis?"

"Again with the questions you know the answers to." Shiro scrunched up Keith's hair. 

"If that's your answer, then I think you need to sleep more than I do."

"Maybe."

The two became one as the room changed into Sheith's personalized room. The bed became longer and filled with more pillows for Sheith to surround himself with. He lied back down and hugged himself, saying the words he always told himself when he needed it most.

"It's okay. I'm here. We're here. You can rest now."

And with that, he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, those of you have been following this fic for a while may have noticed that I updated the relationship tags. I had a feeling that I would gravitate more towards Sheith and Hidge in this AU with a potential for a Lance pairing to come up soon (and Allura, too). But just because I had those ships in mind doesn't mean I'm against anyone that wants to contribute to this AU to produce works with their own favorite ships. This is meant to be more fun and I'd like to keep the relationships open so as to explore the different degrees of love they all have for one another. Whatever the case, I hope you continue to look forward to more updates.


	17. Frustrating Fusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is forced to deal with his least favorite fusion.

Lance headed into the armory, searching for a cleaning tool to help shiny up his gun. When he entered, he was met with a rather unpleasant surprise. At the workstation was a gem worse than Keith. Yeah, worse than Keith. Kidge. Kidge was fidgeting with some sort of weapon, their four arms either holding or fixing it. Their four eyes were focused on the machine, their bun remaining in perfect place at the top of their head. Lance groaned.

"Oh great,” Lance complained loudly, “what are you doing here?”

One of Kidge’s eyes side glanced Lance. “I’m in the middle of work. Shiro said that one of the blasters was busted and he wanted me to fix it and test it out.”

“That’s it? Couldn’t Pidge do that on her own?”

“Maybe, but I am better suited for this kind of thing. I know exactly what I’m looking for and how it should be. You, on the other hand, have no idea what you do half the time or you forget your purpose. A rather glaring problem if you ask me.”

Lance huffed. “Well we can’t all be goal-oriented like you.”

“Actually, yes, you can,” Kidge responded, not fully turning their head to face Lance. “If we can form Voltron, then we can know what we’re doing. Which, by the way, why are you here? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“I was just here to clean up my gun,” Lance summoned his weapon. “I wanted to do it alone, but I guess we can’t all get what we want.”

“You’re right, we can’t all get what we want. I was hoping to work in peace, but you came in and started talking to me while I was trying to work.”

“You’re a real pain, you know that?”

“And you are an imbecile. Now go away. Simple gems like you shouldn’t be around my advanced works.”

Lance extended his arms. “This isn’t even your original work! You’re just tinkering with it!”

“No, what I’m doing is making it better. Because unlike you, I actually make things better.”

“Oh, so what are you trying to say? I make things worse?”

Kidge hummed. “To put it lightly.”

Lance gasped. He slammed his hand down at their work station. “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming out here like this. You’re not some Godsend that we should all worship. And you’re certainly not the strongest or even the smartest fusion. Heck, I think you might be the weakest fusion!”

Kidge put their mechanism down and got up from their chair. Although Kidge was the shortest fusion, they were taller than the blue gem before them. Three of their arms were down, while one hand poked Lance’s chest as they squinted their eyes down at him.

“I am not the weakest fusion,” Kidge hissed. “I have brains and brawn. That’s already two qualities you lack!”

“Oh, yeah sure. I’m totally not smart and strong. Hey, maybe if I weren’t we wouldn’t be able to form Voltron.”

“Voltron only needs you because you’re a good stepping stool! We can find a better gem and Voltron would still be strong. Face it, the only reason you antagonize me and Keith is because you know that you’re the weakest link in all of this and you feel threatened!”

“I do not feel threatened! And I am not the weakest link!” Lance carried his gun. “And I’ll prove it to you!” He began shooting at Kidge. Kidge dodged his attacks, summoning their weapon of an electric rod.

“Be careful, you idiot!” Kidge shouted. “You’re gonna ruin the armory!”

“Oh, why do you care? I thought you could fix anything. Make it better even!” Lance kept shooting and Kidge kept swinging their rod.

“Yeah, I can! But it’s a pain having to do all this work because someone had to ruin it!”

The rod touched Lance, shocking him. He kicked the rod out of their hand. Kidge summoned more rods.

“I ruin everything for you, don’t I? But I guess you need a challenge, since now you gotta rely on using more than one of your weapons.” Lance shot several times before deflecting two of the four rods from Kidge’s hands. Kidge growled.

“You do ruin everything! You think you’re so great yourself. At least I’m useful to this team. All you’ve ever been is a shiny, worthless carving!”

Lance lowered his gun. “Is that how you see me?” The gun disappeared out of his arms. “Worthless?”

Kidge’s angered expression slowly flipped into one of regret. They dropped their rods.

“Lance, I,” Kidge unfused. Keith and Pidge were on the ground, looking up at Lance. Pidge tried to reach out to him, but Lance backed away.

“No,” he said. “You’ve made it loud and clear.”

He ran away from the armory. Keith and Pidge looked at one another guiltily.

  
  


Meanwhile, Lance was in his room, staring up at the ceiling. He put his headphones in, the music being rather loud. He thought he would try sleeping, but that was useless. When the song ended, he heard a knock on the door. He removed his headphones and opened it. Kidge was there.

“Oh, great. You fused again? Come to rub your new height in my face?”

Kidge stood tall, almost saluting before Lance. “Actually, Keith and Pidge thought it would be best if you heard from me. I was the one who pushed things too far. And for that, I’m sorry.”

Lance scoffed. “You? Sorry? When was the last time you ever apologized to anyone that wasn’t Shiro? You think you can call me worthless and say sorry to make things better?”

Kidge lowered their shoulders. “Look, I know I can get a bit...carried away with what I say. And maybe I can say some mean things. But, you need to know that I’m just as flawed as anyone else aboard this ship. And I don’t think you’re worthless.” Kidge leaned against the doorway. “You are a part of what makes this team great. A part of what the universe needs. You shouldn’t let me get in the way of that. Besides,” they looked down at their hands containing their gems, “the two halves of me that make me are probably a lot worse than you. I know, they know, that their fusions with you aren’t the prettiest, so I’m not really one to talk in terms of determining worth.”

Lance grabbed their hands. “I wouldn’t say that. Any fusion with me is beautiful. Even Klance.”

Kidge shoved Lance away, unable to hold back laughter. “No way. Klance and Pidgance are creepy creatures.”

“Creepy, but sexy,” Lance retorted.

“Shut up,” Kidge said.

“Maybe I could give you a much needed makeover,” Lance suggested.

“And make myself worse? I don’t think so.”

“Hey, I thought you were apologizing about calling me worthless.”

“And you’re not worthless. But you do make things worse.” Kidge turned around and walked away.

“Hey, get back here! What kind of apology was that?!”

“A needed one. And a completed one. So if you forgive me, I have to get back to work and fix the damage you caused.”

Lance raised his fist in the air. “That apology sucked and you know it! And I never said I forgive you! Don’t walk away from me!”

Kidge turned the corner and Lance huffed. He went back into his room.

“I’m way too good for them anyway.”


	18. Lotor's Capacity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into one of Lotor Diamond's given stations and how the gems under his control function.

Although Lotor Diamond had been assigned to the barest part of the Galra Empire, even residing on a planet that had no natural-born sentient beings, he was still a diamond nonetheless. A large, violet arm ship that had white coating over the hand landed at a station on a nearby planet. His palanquin hovered down, it's legs outstretched so that it may walk closer to the port. The legs were quickly brought back as his current generals at hand descended down the steps.

An agate with an arm that was clearly bigger than the other greeted the generals and bowed.

"We are honored to have Lotor Diamond here with us."

Ezor tilted her head with her hands behind her back. "Aw, only our diamond?"

The agate smiled at the ruby. "And of course you as well, General Ezor," he faced the other two, "General Zethrid, General Narti."

"How are things, Vixus?"

"Just the usual. We still continue to be the face of disgrace to the Empire." He looked over Ezor. "And where is General Acxa?"

"Away on business," Zethrid answered. "But as far as anyone else is concerned, she's doing work on Lotor's home base."

Vixus hummed to himself, fully aware of the meaning behind Zethrid's words. With that, he changed the subject. 

"Then, shall I escort our diamond and yourselves?"

"Lotor Diamond will come when he feels up to it," Zethrid took the lead. "Where is the emerald from the main part?"

"Currently with the aristocrats of this place. Or what passes for aristocrats." He bit his tongue before bowing to Narti. "My apologies, General."

The cat on Narti's shoulder growled in annoyance.

"Then, let us meet up with him."

 

The gems entered the station, where gems of all shapes and sizes perused the halls. Many were in groups, talking amongst each other despite such groups being of distinctly different classes and hierarchies. And not every gem was full gem. At least a quarter of the gems present were gem hybrids, much like Lotor Diamond's personal entourage. It was an open area for all to mingle. Doors that opened and closed revealed cubbies, resting rooms with beds lined up, and a cafeteria. Leaning against one of the pillars of the station was a bulky pearl, chipping her fingernail with her thumb. She spotted the generals and agate and was quick to bow her head.

"Generals," she said. 

"A pearl without her master," Ezor shook her finger. "Tsk, tsk. Where is your owner?"

The pearl smirked, dramatically putting an arm over her forehead with her eyes shut. "Ah, I'm afraid my owner has left me all alone in this strange place. What is a pearl to do without her owner?" She lifted one eye open. "Unless, of course, my diamond decides to take pity on me and have me become his new, ever obedient servant."

"Not a chance, Reta," Zethrid put an arm out, which the pearl graciously grabbed as they gave each other short hugs that extended to Ezor and Narti. "In all seriousness, why are you out here without Midra?"

"Midra is busy doing important stuff," Rita placed a hand on her hip. "Stuff that she doesn't want me knowing about."

"Doesn't that concern you?" Ezor asked.

Reta scoffed. "Please, unlike me, Midra expects a level of privacy. Is it a fleshling thing?"

Ezor shrugged her shoulders. "I'll admit, there are some things we have to do that regular gems don't have to."

"Don't remind me," Vixus responded bitterly.

"Hey!" A voice called. An aquamarine hybrid with amphibian eyes came to Reta's side. "What have you been telling them about me?"

"Nothing worth spilling," Reta responded. "Are you finished?"

"Obviously," Midra tugged at Reta's hand. "C'mon. I still have to oversee that paperwork and then we still need to attend your training."

"You don't have to go to that," Reta said. 

"But I do," Midra pressed her thumb on Reta's palm. "You need to prove to me that you're no ordinary hand-me down."

"Pfft, please," as Reta got dragged away, she faced the generals and the agate again, "We'll have to catch up another time. See ya."

"Yeah, see ya," Midra said back, and the two went away.

 

"How tasteless," a masculine voice spoke up. "I don't know where that pearl gets the idea to speak back to her owner in such a manner, even if her owner is a half-breed." The voice came from a tall emerald, whose nose was wrinkled up in disgust. "What kind of station are you running here, agate?"

The group of aristocrats that were behind him remained silent, their eyes locked on the floor. 

Vixus gestured his arm to the emerald for the generals. "Generals, this is Captain Zato." Vixus pressed a hand over his chest. "Captain, I hope you found your company to be adequate."

"Please, if they were adequate they wouldn't be here."

The aristocrats made silent gulps. 

"But, at least they know their place in the Empire unlike the rest of these embarrassments. And her." Zato narrowed his eyes at Narti, with her cat glaring back at him.

Zethrid crossed her arms. "What do you want here, emerald?"

"My business is not with you, Japser," Zato spat. "I must be in audience with Lotor Diamond."

"To discuss what?" Zethrid asked threateningly, her claws extended out.

"Something you don't need to know yet."

"That's no way to get an audience with the Great Lotor Diamond," Ezor stepped in.

Zato rolled his eyes. "And what would a ruby know of the requirements to see a diamond? Your flesh certainly didn't help you form a brain." The emerald stood straight. "But I suppose that is what happens when a facility such as this is not well-maintained. If Zarkon Diamond had the time, he'd be able to see to it that this place was in top shape. Of course, he has more important matters to attend to and overseeing a bunch of miscreant gems is certainly not a priority. I suppose that was the reason Lotor Diamond was made: to make sure no one can make the Galra look bad."

Zethrid growled and Ezor's carefree demeanor turned deadly. They had clenched fists and were about to strike, but Narti took a hold of their wrists. When they faced her, the cat meowed in response. 

"My, what a bold claim to make." 

From behind Zato was a masked gem. As Zato faced the gem, the gem removed his helmet to reveal himself as none other than Lotor Diamond. Everyone gasped and all went silent. Zato was quick to salute him.

"My diamond!" Zato's legs shook and he was unable to look Lotor in the face. 

Lotor pressed a hand on his shoulder.

"No need for formalities, Captain," Lotor looked up at him. "Please, relax."

"My diamond, I did not mean to imply that your role was unimportant or even degrading," the emerald began to stutter. "I-I w-was s-s-simply saying th-a-at..."

"Rest easy, my emerald," Lotor opened his arms. "Look around you. I can understand why you'd feel so strongly about this station. For it is unlike any you have seen. You have been programmed to a certain mindset, I understand. But I am here to clear the misunderstandings you have of this station." Lotor gently closed his eyes, his voice still echoing throughout the station. "Yes, it is true. There is no denying that Zarkon Diamond is ashamed of all of us here, especially since we did not come out in his image." His eyes opened, a glimmer of determination in them. "And yet here we stand. Functioning and proving ourselves busy. Just like any member of the Galra Empire. I believe every one of us has a purpose for our empire, even if it is not what others expect. Emerald, you must open your eyes to what is really here. For here is a beacon of potential! A beacon that I have the honor of overseeing."

Cheers echoed throughout the building. Many of the gems saluted to their diamond, including the generals and the agate, and there were those that chanted, "Shine for us, my Diamond!"

Zato, overwhelmed by the energy and feeling embarrassed about his behavior, lowered his head. "Yes, my diamond."

"You are free to go, Vixus," Lotor dismissed the agate before waving his hand, "Come now, Captain. You have asked for my audience and I can tell that you'd rather we discuss whatever's on your mind in private."

Zato sighed heavily. "Yes, my Diamond," and followed him without another word.

 

 

A black star diopside rushed inside a light purple room with a diamond symbol on the floor and a mural of Lotor Diamond with his hands enclosed around a planet and an orbit of planets surrounding him. The black star diopside headed to the edge of the room, inputting a code that made the room glow more.

"There, that should do it," he said to himself, an accent coming out of his voice. "I can't believe Reta forgot. Again. The things I do for these gems." The black star diopside heard the door open again and he froze. He turned around to see Lotor Diamond entering, his generals and the emerald from earlier following suit. The black star diopside hid behind a pillar as he watched.

When the door closed, there was a chill in the air. Lotor Diamond faced the emerald, the smile retained on his face.

"Captain Zato, was it?"

"Yes, my diamond."

Lotor chuckled. "What does it matter? After all, you've come to try and destroy this station." 

The emerald was shocked. Before he could say anything, his mouth was covered by the ruby general, who waved a finger at him.

"Nu-uh-uh," she said. "You're not allowed to speak when our diamond has not ordered you to do so."

Lotor cocked an eyebrow. "It's alright, Captain. You came here with the intention of proving that there was something amiss in this station. You were hoping to find something wrong that would be worth Zarkon Diamond ceasing production here." Lotor's smile fell. "I'm sure that's what he was hoping for, too." He looked at his reflection on Zato's gem. "However, if he really did want this place to be put to an end, he would have done so already. No excuses necessary." His eyes looked at the emerald's widened ones, and his smile returned. "I browsed through your record, Captain. And you want to know what I found?" Lotor brought his face closer to Zato's. "I found that you haven't been upholding the Galra way. You have tried to pass off your failures as little accidents and unforeseen events. And I know Zarkon Diamond has enough sapphires in his court to detect that you have been failing him." His smile became crooked, his teeth shown off. "Which is why he sent you here for me to deal with."

The emerald tried to speak but could only manage to release mumbles from his covered mouth. Lotor Diamond removed his face from the emerald's close proximity, his smile going back to a normal one.

"Don't think you can come into my domain and spout filth." The emerald struggled to break free. "Oh, don't worry. You won't be missed. Zethrid, would you like to get rid of this eyesore of a hologram so that I can deal with him properly?"

The jasper general cracked her knuckles, a wide grin on her face. "With pleasure."

When the ruby released the emerald, the jasper gave him a good punch. Her punch was so strong that it caused his phyical form to literally break down. The emerald spotted the black star diopside, and looked at him with pleading eyes. Before the emerald could cry for help, or even land on the floor, his physical form had been no more. His gem dropped down. Lotor Diamond pressed his boot on the emerald, shattering it to pieces.

The black star diopside covered his mouth, retreating back.

Lotor picked up one of the shards.

"A coup against me is reason enough for me to break him, is it not?"

Ezor hummed. "Of course."

"Come, ladies. Our business here is done."

They filed out of the room, having never noticed the black star diopside that remained inside. The black star diopside dropped down, his body shivering. He looked at the mural, unable to shake away the diamond's gaze on a planet he literally possessed in his grasp with the other planets that revolved around him.


	19. Comfort in Showbiz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance feels bad about messing up on the last mission. Shiro's there to assure him that there's more to be desired in him.

The beast threw Lance in the air with ease, his high pitched screams going noticed by the nearby villagers. As he was falling down, he flung his arm in front of him, summoning a board made of ice and landing harshly. He cried out for the team, but they were busy circling the creature. Hunk kept blasting away at it while Pidge attempted to shock it, to no avail as it did nothing against the creature. Shiro shapeshifted his arm to use it as a rope to keep the monster detained. It worked, but only momentarily as Shiro struggled to hold onto it longer. Lance tried to redeem himself by hovering to the monster and using his water as strings he could use to puppeteer the thing. 

However, the monster instead absorbed his water and grew in size. 

"Woah, how did that happen?"

"I think that thing's body is a sponge of some sort," Pidge realized. 

The monster came stomping towards Lance, who could only hover back. "Guys, a little help!"

Before the beast could pulverize the blue gem, a burst of smoke came about. When inspected, Keith was revealed to have hit a fire blast at the creature and successfully burned it. Keith kept flinging fire at the monster, making the water in its body boil up and evaporate in the air. Lance used this opportunity to surf down and join the rest of his friends. 

"I think we can increase the heat if we form Voltron," Shiro said. "Everyone, now!"

When they fused, Voltron summoned their sword and engulfed the sword in flames, using it to slash down the monster. The monster reverted into its gem, bubbled up, and sent to the castle. When Voltron unfused, the villagers surrounded Keith in praise. While Keith was polite in taking the compliments, Lance couldn't help but feel a sense of embarrassment on his part.

 

With every battle, Lance felt himself slipping up bit by bit. That last one in particular made him embarrassed, especially when Keith had to come in and make up for Lance’s mistake. When they got back to the castle, Shiro, as usual, congratulated the team.

“Nice work, team,” Shiro said, even though Lance felt that he only said those words to keep moral high. Not a moment too soon did Shiro turn his congratulatory words to Keith, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Keith, nice save out there. You really pulled through.”

Keith smiled at Shiro. “Thanks, Shiro.”

Lance looked at the two in helplessness. Keith and Shiro left together.

“You okay, Lance?” Hunk asked.

Lance shrugged Hunk off. “Yeah, fine.” He headed back into his room. His gem room.

 

Lance was underneath a waterfall, the water falling over his head. He tried to think about his family back home. The ones that let him live with them. How kind and caring they were over him, even being concerned about his safety despite the fact that all of them knew that he was stronger than humans and could withstand things they could not. The waterfall in his room was the closest he could get to feeling at home. He looked up before his body submerged underneath the water. He created whirlpools to ease his tension, but still that would not allow him to let go of the frustration he felt when thinking about his slip ups. If only they could save a water-covered planet. Then he’d have to shine and maybe he’d get praised by Shiro. He didn’t realize that he was above the water again until he looked down, ripples forming from both his figure and the drops that fell from his hair. Lance walked off of the water and stepped into a shoreline. The door to the outside world wasn’t far, but he didn’t want to leave just yet. Instead, he summoned one of his mirrors to appear before him. When he looked at his reflection, he changed his form.

After Shiro was finished talking to Keith, he searched for Lance. He was in need of Lance’s water clones to test out for training. Shiro found the door to Lance’s room illuminating a bright blue. Lance was definitely in his gem room and not his normal room. Shiro knew he had to tread into the room carefully. He gave a knock.

“Lance?” he asked. He stepped forward, opening the door. When he got in, he was surprised to see a blue Keith standing in front of a mirror. This blue Keith turned around, revealing two gems: one on the right hand and one on the right leg.

“Shiro?” The blue Keith turned back into Lance, the gem on the right hand disappearing. “I was just...uh….checking to see if my shapeshifting abilities still worked.”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

Lance tried to avoid Shiro’s gaze. “Uh, no reason. I mean, you’ll never know when something will go wrong, am I right?”

Shiro looked at Lance with concern. “Lance, is there something bothering you?”

Lance snorted. “Pfft, me? No. Not at all. I mean, I guess I did just turn into Keith, so I could see why you’d think something’s wrong with me. But I’m telling you, I just wanted to test my abilities and obviously I can still look as hideous as him.”

Shiro walked over to Lance. “Lance, what’s wrong?”

Lance accidentally made eye contact with Shiro and mentally cursed himself for it because he could see that Shiro was being serious. Sometimes he wondered how Shiro got to be their leader. He was way too good for him.

“I...I know I messed up on the last mission,” Lance admitted.

“What? Lance what are you talking about?”

Lance’s room illuminated as the watery shores turned into a regular room. Lance sat down on his bed, Shiro still standing.

“I wasn’t paying attention. I thought I could use my water to my advantage without considering the type of monster I was facing. Keith had to be the one to save the day. And he’s ever so reliable because of how great his instincts are.”

“Lance…”

“Look, I know I’m not the strongest gem on the team. All I can do is manipulate water and we haven’t exactly been around a lot of water planets.” He looked up at Shiro. “I can’t show you how capable I am. How you can rely on me as much as everyone else.”

Shiro sat down next to him, placing a hand over Lance’s thigh.

“Lance, it doesn’t matter what planet we go on or who saves the day,” Shiro said softly. “You’re worth more than you lead yourself to believe. Each of us has our unique assets, and that includes you.” Shiro pointed to Lance’s gem. “I depend on you as much as I depend on anyone else. You’re a part of what makes us special.” Shiro held Lance’s hand. “Don’t sell yourself short. Okay?”

Lance smiled. “Okay.”

Shiro rose from the bed. “I was going to ask you to use your water to help power up the castle's energy, but I think I have a better idea on how to do that.”

 

Shiro and Lance were outside of the castle in front of the villagers and the team. Keith had his arms crossed, looking at them as though he wanted whatever they were about to do to end quickly.

“Ready?” Shiro cocked an eyebrow.

Lance nodded and started moving his body. Shiro swayed his body along. The two got closer to one another with each step, dancing until Shance came out.

Shance raised their three arms in the air and their four eyes were wide with excitement.

“Yeah, baby! Let’s get this show on the road!”

There were cheers in the crowd as the rest of the paladins sighed in dismay. Coran and Allura ooed at the bespactle of a fusion that towered them. Allura clasped her hands together.

"We're glad to have you here, Shance," she commented.

Shance carefully picked up the Altean's significantly tiny hand with only a single finger.

"The pleasure's mine, Princess. I'm glad I could be of help to a lovely and strong woman such as yourself," Shance winked.

The paladins groaned while Coran chuckled. 

"Right, Shance, we'll be needing you to fuel the castle as efficiently as you can. It might be a while to get the castle moving."

Shance laughed loudly. "Oh, Coran. There's no need for you to be pessimistic. I'll get it done in no time. So you just rest easy, my good man." Shance faced the crowd. "Hm...now I could climb to the top of the castle. But that would be unnecessary. I could fly, but I don't know. I think I can only fly if I have cheers. What do you say?" Shance dramatically brought his hands out. 

The villagers urged him to reveal his wings, shouts of praise and eagerness coming out. Shance held his arms out. He concentrated his energy to summon his steel wings, which flew straight to his back. There were oos and awes.

He peaked at the crowd and looked up at the sky. He pushed his arms down and bolted up in the air. He swirled, with water shooting out his palms. The blast of water created tiny rainbows on the ground. The younger villagers clapped at that and pointed out how pretty it looked.

When Shance reached the top of the castle, he found the core that kept the castle running. It was dimly lit and barely had any light pumping through. Shance lifted his arms, the pillars of water elegantly merging into one. He channeled the water into the core, making it appear as if it were a reverse fountain. Hunk smiled and awed, earning him glares from Keith and Pidge.

"What? You gotta admit, it looks nice."

Keith and Pidge looked at one another before returning their attention to the show, silently agreeing with Hunk's statement.

When the last of the water was filled, Shance's robotic arm glowed. 

"Time to power this baby up."

He slammed a fist into the core, passing on energy to fuse with the running water. The core grew brighter as did its pumps and soon the whole castle shimmered in the brilliance of blue. The villagers cheered and Shance fluttered his wings down to the ground, giving a bow.

"Thank you, thank you," Shance smiled. He straightened himself out, looking more serious this time. "Your attendance to this little show means more to me than any of you could imagine. I hope this show has shown you the potential we gems have at doing more good than harm. I wish I could stay around a little longer, but my halves will be needed elsewhere. I do hope you understand."

There were frowns and disappointing sighs throughout.

"But worry not. If you're willing to help us and the lovely Princess Allura and her dutiful servant, Coran, then I'm sure we'll meet again and you can see more fantastic sights for the benefit of others."

The frowns returned to smiles.

"Remember: stay safe. Look good. And help us take down the Galra Empire. Goodbye, my little stars."

Shance's body glimmered until his form broke apart. Shiro was holding Lance by his waist and they looked at each other and smiled.

"Thanks, Shiro," Lance said softly. He looked out in the crowd and removed Shiro's hands. "Looks like Mullet enjoyed the show."

Shiro let out a breath. "He'll be fine. It's not hard for me to make it up to him."

"You know, I always thought Keith would be the jealous type, but he looks more annoyed than angry."

"Well, Keith and I trust each other. We both know that sometimes our friends need us more. Hunk and Pidge are the same way. I think if anything, he's just a bit peeved that we made a big deal of showing our powers. He's never been one for theatrics."

Lance thought that last part couldn't have been true, for he knew he had once seen Keith get invested in some type of action/drama film. He kept that to himself as he and Shiro opted on talking about the show they put on.


	20. A Crack in the Diamond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Diamond is expected to lead and consider the greater good of his followers and allies. Sometimes that means risking his home planet to create the ultimate weapon. But what happens when he decides to use those components to save a mortal Altean?

Thousands of years ago, the Galra Empire was facing an internal crisis. There was a civl war between the gems who had accepted their place in the universe and those that were completely against that destiny. Zarkon Diamond had sacrificed many a good soldier to protect the order that ensured his society's survival. He knew that not everyone understood that order. In fact, one of his allies, Blaytz, was always forgetful of that order.

"Come join us, friend," the aquarian life form addressed a nearby pearl, "celebrate our victory with us."

"Blaytz, please," the diamond seated outside of his friends pressed a couple of his fingers on his temple. "I've told you many times that pearls are meant for serving, not mingling."

Blaytz merely laughed it off. "Zarkon Diamond, I will respect your wishes. But surely it is not uncommon to seek out the company of others, regardless of their status."

"Yeah, otherwise you wouldn't be hanging out with him," another ally, Gyrgan, pointed at Blaytz. 

The table emerged in laughter, even Zarkon Diamond could not hide his smile at his friend's joke. 

Alas, even good times as those could not change that the order and balance of the universe was being thrown awry with the rebels. Zarkon found himself losing far too many soldiers and even innocent gems who were not meant to take part in the battle. His greatest weapon to counter attack the rebels was a special song that he had been working on for some time. When it looked like a battle was at a loss, his friends would help him surround the enemy and he would play the song. The effects of the song, while permanent on those exposed, were not enough for Zarkon to truly win.

His song was impressive enough for his allies as he was willing to use it on any threats that came to those who wanted to pillage planets and sought to terrorize civilians. And that was the most it could ever really be used for. Alfor had managed to speak to Zarkon about the matter.

"My friend," the Altean man said, "perhaps instead of using your song against those that will not stop, use it to deter evil doers." The young man looked up at the diamond with a smile. "You were willing to start a treaty with us, beings made of flesh, and that has gotten you a greater alliance than any other alliances in the entire galaxy. Perhaps you could start a treaty with these rebels, too, for an outcome that will be more to your benefit."

Zarkon Diamond sighed, but extended a finger for Alfor to shake. As much as he hated to admit it, the war had been more trouble than what it was worth. Thus, Zarkon made the move to set up a truce between the Galra and those that had separated themselves from the Empire. Those that did not wish to be a part of the Galra Empire were free to leave, under the condition that they go as far away from Diabazaal as possible and never return. The treaty was set; the war was over.

 

Life on Daibazaal went back to normal. Gems could continue to live their lives without worries of traitors. Zarkon Diamond could send his troops out once more to aid his allies. But one thought that would not leave his mind was the possibility of another gem uprising. He needed to come up with a weapon that would be powerful enough to take down a large number of gems. Voltron was one possibility, but it had been much longer since he last saw Voltron. And with the war over, he doubted Voltron would emerge anytime soon. 

It would have been one thing if he were against organic life. Organic life was easy for him to eliminate. Even his friends were aware of the power he held at taking down their planets with ease. But gems were trickier. Galra can only die if their gem is broken. And while Trigel initially believed gems could be shattered easily, Zarkon pointed out the complexity of their fragility. Yes, Galra were much more fragile in their gem state. In fact, some gems are easier to crack than others. But to shatter one into pieces is a lot harder and very tedious. Combined with how certain gems recharge at a faster rate than others, it would be hard to say how long it takes for a gem to be shattered unless they were killed by a diamond.

As Zarkon pondered on such thoughts, something incredible happened on Daibazaal.

 

Peridots reported an incoming force that was on its way to the planet. A comet. Zarkon took to being on the forefront. He used all his strength to shatter the comet to pieces. However, when it broke apart, something glowed from its pieces.

Alfor, Blaytz, Trigel, and Gyrgan were summoned immediately to Diabazaal to investigate. Zarkon showed them a piece of the comet, and they all felt a force growing inside of them as they were exposed to its contents. Alfor suggested that the comet be studied, believing that this power would be worth reviewing and testing. Zarkon couldn't have agreed more. His only concern, however, was that if they wanted to study this comet, it would probably take hundreds of years for them to fully understand it, even with the elite scientists of Daibazaal working endlessly. And with that, Zarkon would have to constantly explain to future leaders of his friends' planets where they stand in terms of the comet along with updates on such studying. He knew that the cost of working alongside organic life would be their short lives that would lead to him forcing himself to forge new bonds and put on a new facade of interest. While he enjoyed the company of his friends, he didn't know if he could manage to pretend to be interested in whoever would take their place. It would honestly be silly for him to hold strong emotions for something that would die before the possiblity of his death could even come to mind. Definitely silly.

Until Zarkon Diamond came across a frighful, furry little creature. It's dark fur and orange mane, those larger than life eyes, the markings on its forehead and back. The creature was puny, definitely smaller than Zarkon's thumb, but it had appeared out of nowhere. It's tiny size could make it easy to strike the diamond. Zarkon shielded Alfor from the thing.

"Alfor, stay back!" Zarkon panicked. "We don't know what that is!"

The thing meowed in response as another Altean entered the room, crouching down and holding her arms out to the thing.

"His name is Kova," the other Altean said, picking that Kova up and allowing it to rest on her shoulders and nuzzle her cheek. "Do not worry, he would never harm you."

It was then that Zarkon was overcome with a new emotion. This Altean, a woman with a pointed chin and nose, her purple hair tied neatly in a bun, looking at him with reassurance. Zarkon Diamond did not pay attention to Alfor's words, except for this excerpt of a sentence.

"This is Honerva."

Zarkon Diamond did not believe it was possible to find beauty in organic life. It would all go to waste sometime. But her? Honerva's name was the very definition of beautiful. Of course, her looks were not all he found interesting about her.

 

As it turned out, Honerva was an Altean alchemist assigned to work alongside the scientific gems. She had been the founder of many successful projects on Altea and wrote some of the most well renowned theses statements of her planet. When she began working alongside the scientist gems, they were surprised by how up to speed she was in their research. Even more surprising was her ability to detect errors in their reports, proving the correct answers by experimenting in front of them.

Zarkon Diamond found himself visiting the labs more often than what anyone was accustomed to. He found himself wanting to see the Altean alchemist at work. Her diligence and willingness to take risks. With each visit, he became more interested in the work being done. He approached other scientists, learning more about what it took to truly grasp the power of the comet while also listening to their comments of their daily routines. No one dared to critique Zarkon Diamond, but they felt more comfortable venting in front of him about the soldiers they would normally work with and sharing their happiness over a common event that brought them all together. The diamond probably would have never found himself as invested in his peoples' lives if he hadn't seen Honerva speaking to them in such a manner.

For all of her work, Zarkon rewarded Honerva with her own lab. When presented with the gift, she was extremely grateful.

"I don't know how to thank you enough," she said, placing Kova down for him to wander around.

"This is only a small part of what I can give you," Zarkon replied, kneeling beside her. "If this is not enough for your work, tell me what more I can give you and it shall be granted."

Honerva slyly put a finger on her chin, cocking her head. "Hm...whatever I want you say?"

"Anything."

She looked him in the eye, putting her hands behind her back. "Then I'd like to see you more outside of work."

"If it's a meeting you'd like, one of my pearls can clear my schedule for you."

Honerva shook her head. "Not an appointment." She put her hands on his hand. "Leisure time. With just us." Kova purred against her leg. "Us and Kova," she picked the creature up.

Zarkon felt his chest tighten. "Very well. Upon your request, we shall spend time together."

 

Zarkon showed Honerva more of Daibazaal. He showed her the planet's arenas, the libraries, the sites of former kindergartens. At night, they would watch the stars atop a building, with Zarkon pointing out the planets that had been colonized by the gems and describing the histories those bases. Honerva would tell him of her days studying the ecosytem and weather of Altea. How her parents stories of Altea's creation by the gods piqued her interest in learning about the function of the world. The universe. 

She rested herself against his arm.

"Isn't it amazing how everything has a purpose?" Her eyes remained fixated on the sky. "When I was a child, I thought my place in life would be to contribute to society without ever being seen. No one else in my classes shared my interest in learning about the purpose of...everything," she chuckled to herself. Kova hopped on her lap and she stroked his head. "As I got older, I became more well known. I was even praised by King Alfor. But sometimes I wonder if my king is even truly invested in such matters. I don't blame him, but Kova here is the only one that has stayed with me on those nights that I have found stronger links."

Zarkon Diamond opened up his palm. "If it's company you seek, I would be more than happy to give that to you."

Honerva smiled and climbed on his hand, where he placed her on his shoulder and the two continued talking about their interests.

 

His companionship did he give her. And to prove it, he partook in a ceremony that was foreign to him. Zarkon Diamond married the lovely Honerva, to the witnesses of their very close and dear friends. She began to done an outfit similar to Zarkon's to represent how they became one.

 

Research on the comet did not cease. In fact, Honerva presented her husband, her king, and the rest of the allies with a startling discovery. The allies of Zarkon underwent testing, and soon it was discovered that the comet had given them a power they never thought possible. The five of them, standing close, their bodies glowing, began to emerge. Honerva looked on with eyes wide open and piqued in amazement. For the first time in centuries, Voltron emerged. 

Voltron was confused, looking down at the alchemist, asking questions of how they could come to be if four of their components were made of flesh. Gems could only fuse with other gems. It shouldn't have been possible.

Voltron disbanded, with Honerva being put in charge to research the phenomen more.

As she did more research, the allies decided to fuse more often to battle more foes and bring peace to the universe. The power from the comet was given a name: quintessence. Quintessence flowed through the bodies of Alfor, Trigel, Blaytz, and Gyrgan. It made them just as strong as the best of gems, matching in power to Zarkon. However, quintessence brought more than potential for good.

Honerva found that quintessence could grow stronger, more powerful, by using the life force of Daibazaal. Alfor did not want to risk the planet's life force, but Zarkon would not let him deter Honerva's discovery. After all, if quintessence could make organic life stronger, who knew what it could do for gems?

 

Zarkon tested the quintessence on his own. He used a nearby topaz to test out the effects the quintessence had on his power. In a secluded base, Zarkon played a song that was all too familiar. The topaz screeched out in pain as their body began to morph. Their build became taller, more muscular, but also more feral. The topaz transformed into a creature that was stronger and more violent than all the other victims of the song. 

It was then that Zarkon tested the song more often, seeing how different gems transformed into all sorts of creatures. Some became lanky, others became rougher. There were those whose arms shifted into wings and those that grew tentacles, claws, and fangs that were never there before. Zarkon had found the ultimate weapon he could use for future victories. He worked with Honerva to create bases where they could continue testing and have Zarkon pour his power into generators so that he would not have to travel to every single base and could spend more time with the concerns of his planet.

 

Zarkon continued to support Honerva for she had shown him the possibilities for his people. He gave her everything she needed and wanted. It was a time of bliss, or should have been. There was one thing that Honerva had asked for that proved to be difficult for Zarkon to provide. It was a period of time that was too much for the both of them. A time that he never spoke of to anyone.

 

After that time, Kova grew frail and moved less often. Honerva brought him his bowl of food and water to the lab. 

"Kova," she called to him. The cat didn't lift his head. He stared at her. She patted the floor. "Come, Kova." His blinking seemed slow. "Kova?"

Honerva walked over to him, scooping him up. He meowed in discontent, pressing his head against her chest.

"Kova," she gently rubbed his fur. "Kova, you're sick. But that's okay. You'll feel better. I promise."

Kova let out a low purr. 

 

Honerva wore a dark, purple cloak over her red dress. She let her hair fall down, hair that had gone from a soft purple to a chilling white. The markings underneath her eyes grew longer. Her face started to grow wrinkles. She was aging. But she was still beautiful to Zarkon.

Alfor, now aged as much as Honerva, grew concerned over her. His fears only grew when he saw Kova, who was sickly thin and still alive. Honerva argued that the quintessence cured Kova and thus he could live longer now. Quintessence was just as viable to gems as it was to organic beings.

Zarkon Diamond would not allow anyone to question his wife any longer and sent Alfor away. Alfor was a fool to not see the benefit quintessence brought. Zarkon saw the bigger picture. Just because Daibazaal was deteriorating didn't mean it would be like that for long. If Kova was any proof, Daibazaal would become stronger than it was before. This was merely a phase. All life cycles, including gems and civilizations, had phases.

But one phase that Zarkon could not allow to come was for the end of Honerva. Honerva, still beautiful and intelligent, became weak. She fainted and fell over so often that he was forced to put her to bedrest. She was monitored by jades, who did all they could to keep her alive. Their expertise would not be enough. 

Zarkon stayed by her side as she spouted nonsense. He covered her body gently with his hand, soothing her and kissing her head. Honerva latched her arms around his hand, pressing it down on her.

"My love," he begged, "tell me what you desire and it shall be given to you."

"Quintessence," Honerva sputtered out. "I need quintessence. It, it will m-make me live longer. M-make everything live longer."

"Shooo," Zarkon slithered his other hand underneath her, caressing her. "It's okay. If that is what you seek, I shall bring it to you." He closed his eyes. "I will not let you fall. I promise."

 

Zarkon Diamond pleaded with his friends to dig up Daibazaal. He said that the planet would be repaired if they could patch it up from the inside. He led Alfor to believe that he was remorseful over how things went. It was the only way he knew how in order for them to fuse into Voltron once more. 

Before fusing into Voltron, Zarkon had placed Honerva in a pod and sent it to the location he would lead Voltron to. When Voltron arrived, they were about to use one of their weapons to bring Daibazaal back together. Before they could summon the weapon, they broke apart.

Confused, the four flesh beings tried to fuse again, but Zarkon was not with them. They saw Zarkon move towards a pod, opening it, and carrying Honerva in his hands. Honerva lay limply on his hands as she was offered up to the quintessence. Zarkon was not going to lose her. He could lose his planet. The trust of his friends. Even his power. But he would not lose her. 

The quintessence surrounded them, and Zarkon began to play his song. Surely, the power of his song over a being of flesh would make her strong enough to stand once more. It had to. The quintessence, however, was much stronger than either he or her could imagine. Honerva clutched to her husband's touch and Zarkon's eyes glowed. With a blast, everyone was catapulted out of the inner planet and returned to the surface.

Honerva laid on the ground and Zarkon's physical form was no more. A few of his pieces had been chipped off as his gem rested on Honerva's chest. His friends mourned their loss and cried over Zarkon's betrayal.

The blast was big enough to cause the planet to break apart. Alfor arranged for all the inhabitants to leave, and ordered for the destruction of the planet. Alfor convinced an agate to bubble Zarkon away and kept him inside Honerva's tomb. 

 

Then, as all were in mourning, the diamond glowed inside the bubble. It's rays pierced the bubble, it's broken form regenerated and pieced itself back together. Zarkon Diamond came back, his mind filled with rage and power lust. But before that, he noticed a table near him and a shivering figure that curled itself against the table. It was his beloved Honerva, her skin turned deathly blue, trying to warm herself up.

She rose, her form hunched over, but stared at him with glowing eyes. She was alive. It had worked.

Zarkon stepped outside, startling the amethyst that was guarding the door.

"Where are we?"

"O-on your ship, my Diamond," the amethyst answered.

"Tell the captain to take us home."

The amethyst gulped, but answered anyway. "I'm afraid Daibazaal is no more."

Zarkon narrowed his eyes. "How? And why?" He growled.

"King Alfor of Altea called for homeworld's destruction. There was a blast in the planet that made it impossible for us to stay in."

Zarkon did not like that answer one bit. "If he thinks he can get rid of my planet like that, then I suppose he intends to hand his over for our new home."

Zarkon Diamond announced his return and called for the gems to return to his command. With the knowledge of quintessence's power, he would ensure the continuing survival of gem society. He declared that the new homeworld, the new Daibazaal, would be the planet that was once known as Altea.

The Galra were sent to fight another war, but one that ensured their victory. The war did not limit itself to Altea. Zarkon couldn't risk Voltron's return. It was clear that they could never form Voltron again. But he couldn't risk the power given to his friends being spread to others. With a heavy heart, he ordered the assassinations of Trigel, Blaytz, and Gyrgan. They wouldn't have seen things his way anyway. They worked with Alfor to destroy his planet. And even if one of them tried to stop Daibazaal's demise, they had clearly failed and it would be an injustice to allow them to live with that failure. 

Their planets were enslaved, while Altea was completely uprooted to fit gem society. The Alteans were wiped out, save for two. Allura and Coran were sent away along with the castle to another planet. Alfor knew he was going to lose. But he left behind a teleduv inside the castle in the hopes that there would be new gems to fuse into Voltron. For Voltron was the only hope anyone had at defeating Zarkon.

With Alfor gone, Honerva helped redesign the planet and pointed out the perfect places for kindergartens. Zarkon and Honerva continued to work side by side, expanding the Galra Empire and furthered their testing and experimentation with quintessence. Corrupted gems were used as weapons to overthrow other alien societies and make planets bow before Zarkon Diamond. He ensured that he would never lose anything ever again.


	21. Mistrust of Gems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Allura and Coran go missing, the gems set out to find them. Unfortunately, they stumble upon the planet's inhabitants, who aren't exactly pleased to have gems on their planet.

The castle made a landing away from the planet's civilazation. Allura and Coran packed up their things and paid attention to their reflections in the mirror. Lance walked in, smirking behind Allura.

"Princess, you already look beautiful," he slyly remarked before shapeshifting into her. "Even I could see how perfect you look."

Allura held back a growl as she moved away from the mirror and Lance. Coran followed behind her as they headed back to the others at the loading deck.

"I don't know how I feel about this, Princess," Shiro said. "Is it really alright for just you and Coran to venture off into this planet on your own?"

"Shiro, you worry too much," Allura replied. "You and the others have explored planets that you haven't been to. It won't be any worse for me and Coran."

"And you forget, Shiro," Coran raised a finger, "gems aren't welcomed on this planet. It's up to the Princess and I to iron out a treaty with them."

"I don't know, I feel like at least one of us should go with you," Hunk tried to argue.

"We'll be alright," Allura smiled. "It shouldn't take us more than a few vargas."

"Meaning?" Pidge cocked an eyebrow.

"Hours," Shiro answered. "I hope you're right. You do have your communicators on you, right?"

"Shiro, please," Coran put his ear piece on, "what do you take us for? Children?"

"I mean, to us you're children," Keith said. "We are much older than both of you, even with the 10,000 year cryogenic sleep."

"Last I checked, the four of you were created after the Gem War," Allura remarked. "The only one that can use that argument is Shiro."

"I guess I can't blame you for your overprotectiveness, Elder Shiro," Coran patted Shiro's back, to Shiro's bemusement.

Shiro gave out a sigh. "Just, contact us if anything goes wrong."

"Will do." The garage opened and Allura and Coran headed down to explore this new planet.

 

 

A full day had passed and there was no word from either Allura or Coran. Lance kept opening and closing the video communication line. Keith looked at the clock before putting a line on a piece of metal that was starting to fill up. Pidge and Rover were focused on her laptop. Hunk paced back and forth. Shiro remained on guard at the door. Hunk broke the silence.

"That's it, I can't take it anymore," he pressed on his ear piece. "Coran? Allura? You guys there? Are you okay? Have you eaten anything? Have you slept? Do Alteans need something specific to survive?"

"Hunk, calm down," Keith eyed the clock again. "We have to trust them, remember? They said they'd be back in a few hours. It's possible that time works differently on this planet."

"That's what you say," Lance turned the video communication off again. "We don't know what these planet's fleshlings are like. For all we know, Allura could be in danger, having been kidnapped by a ravenous lifeform!" He shapeshifted into a mock Keith with an overexaggerated jaw, claws, and a set of tentacles oozing from the bottom.

Keith narrowed his eyes before he shapeshifted his own arm, making it longer and his fist bigger to give Lance a good smack on the head. "Quit it!"

"It may be worth looking into," Shiro suggested. "I want to trust the Princess and Coran as much as possible, but it has been too long and they aren't picking up any of our calls. I say we go down there and search for them. Make sure the planet isn't under some kind of threat."

Everyone agreed and left the castle in search of their Altean friends.

* * *

Approaching the nearest town was as if they were approaching a barren battlefield. The structures that were up were cracking, the windows open that didn't reveal sounds, and the streets lacked a soul to walk around. Shiro crouched down to the pavement, rubbing the dirt between his fingers. He looked behind himself, his eyes glued to the floor.

"There isn't a single footprint here," he commented.

"Is it possible that these are aliens capable of flight?" Lance asked.

"I doubt it," Pidge pointed to one of the buildings that had an unhinged doorknob and a couple of windows. "If these were fleshlings capable of flight, their structures would reflect that. Based on the architecture, these appear to be common bipedal life forms."

"Maybe I can make myself bigger and see if I can spot Allura or Coran?" Hunk suggested.

"You might want to hold off on that," Shiro said. "Remember: this planet's civilization doesn't take kindly to gems. If they saw you, they might view it as a threat."

"Then how are we supposed to find them?" Keith said. He walked ahead of the group, looking at the narrow-cone monument that was up ahead. The inscription on it was in a language Keith could not understand. "It's not like a path will show up out of nowhere," he leaned back on the monument, unaware that the scripture was glowing. They felt a rumble and Keith jumped out of the way as a stairway underground revealed itself.

"Hey, look, a path showed up out of nowhere," Hunk pointed out.

Pidge squinted down. "It looks pretty dark, though."

Keith took out a torch from his gem and lit the top on fire. "Better?"

Shiro motioned for all of them to head down. "Come on, we should get moving before it closes."

 

When the gems reached the underground path, they all huddled closely to one another. Keith held the torch as Shiro walked beside him, his robotic arm glowing dimly and raised up. Hunk hid behind Pidge and Lance made faces everytime his foot stepped on something he found unappealing.

"Oh, how I wish I had wings," he complained.

"How I wish we could find Allura and Coran already," Hunk shivered. "This place is giving me the creeps."

"Don't worry, we'll find them," Shiro reassured. "The sooner we find them, the sooner our minds will be at ease. We just gotta focus on keeping our senses sharp for any danger."

"Speaking of danger," Lance sped up closer to Shiro. "I've seen enough mystery movies to know that something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Keith glanced at the lapis lazuli.

"Think about it: we coincidentally come across a secret passageway that conveniently led us to this underground system and we haven't run into any kind of trouble?"

"What trouble do you think we'd run into?" Shiro looked around. 

"I don't know. A guard, a booby trap-"

The flame on Keith's torch went out. 

"An ambush."

Glowing dots appeared behind the gems as they felt themselves getting apprehended by bodies, their hands cuffed. When there was proper lighting again, they were met with beings that had hunched backs and overgrown forearms, their faces sharp. The gems found themselves handcuffed and pushed down on their knees. A yellow one of these beings looked down on them. 

"Well, well, well, looks like we gotta a couple of gems in our midst," the leader grimaced, leaning on his knee. 

"Galra, no doubt," a blue one commented.

"What? No, we're not Galra," Keith tried to argue.

"We're rebel gems," Shiro continued. "We're just looking for our friends."

"Yeah, you have to believe us!" Lance cried out before all of them had their mouths covered with cloths.

"There's no point in trying to defend yourselves, you hunk of rocks," the leader said. He stood back up, waving his arm. "C'mon, let's have these gems face retribution!"

All the others chanted in agreement, lifting the gems high up. They squirmed, Hunk trying to shapeshift, but found that he could not. A purple-skinned alien noticed and chuckled.

"No point in using your powers. Those handcuffs are made with a special quality that disables you from shapeshifting, weapon summoning, and using your elements. The only thing they can't do, unfortunately, is get rid of those holograms."

"Kind of a joke how a bunch of rocks make themselves look like people," a green one added to the conversation.

"That's really the only way a bunch of rocks could ever take over."

The gems eyed one another in concern.

They reached the hub, crowds of the planet's inhabitants turning their attention to the captured gems. There were boos heard all around, even as the gems were placed against confinement tables that stood straight up. The gems were once again imprisoned, this time by straps that automatically wrapped around their bodies. Some of the inhabitants started throwing rotten fruits of darkened purple and pinks at them, juices spilling down on all of their cheeks.

"My fellow Raidins," the yellow one held his arms out to the crowd, "these gems have foolishly came to our system. They scavenged our former homes above and came directly here to try and make our planet their new kindergarten!"

Lance's eyes grew wide. He tried to argue against the claim, only to be met with a boot to the head. 

"We may not have a means to destroy them, but we do have something better." Another citizen came on the stage, carrying a box. When the leader opened it up, he revealed a shiny, metallic border that turned into any shape of whatever object was found within it. "We will get rid of their mocking, and quite frankly hideous illusions," another mumble from Lance was heard, "and contain them inside of these! Once inside, we will bury their gems inside the soils of Vontra, where they will never be found."

At this, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk screamed out in terror, although their screams were supressed. 

The leader faced the gems. "Any last words?"

All of them tried to say something, but muffling was all that was heard. 

"I've heard enough. Bring out the weapons!" 

A pair of Raidins came on stage. One carried a sharp spear while the other had a plasma gun. They aimed their weapons at the gems and the crowds cheered them on. That is, until a voice spoke up.

"Wait!"

All eyes were now on Allura and Coran, who were wearing garments similar to the Raidins. 

"Those gems are not a part of the Galra Empire!" Coran defended as he and Allura walked to where the "execution" was taking place.

"They are with us," Allura continued, pleading to the leader. "They are the allies I have told you about that will help us put an end to Zarkon's terror."

"Well, why didn't they say so?" the leader asked as he gestured for some of his underlings to release them.

"We did say so!" all five gems said in unison.

Once they were free, Hunk scooped Allura in a big embrace.

"Thank you," tears came down his eyes. "I thought we were done for!"

Allura smiled and patted Hunk on the shoulder.

"But Princess, why didn't you answer our calls?" Shiro asked.

"Reception's no good down here," Coran answered, showing his communication device which had a no symbol on the radio signal. "We honestly thought we wouldn't be gone for more than a few vargas, but we were caught up in all the welcomings and catching up with the Raidins."

"Well, I'm just glad you guys came just in time to rescue us," Pidge remarked. "I hope Rover won't have to wait as long."

"That still doesn't mean you gems are off the hook!" the leader proclaimed. "While the lovely Altean princess and her aide have spared you from being forever buried, you'll still need to prove your loyalty."

Keith cocked an eyebrow. "Seriously? How are we supposed to do that?"

 

 

"There was a reason we were here much longer than intended," Allura showed them a video feed of a monster with a husky body and three lean heads on the surface. All of them had been escorted to a private room that had wires hanging on the ceiling, plugs crawling all over the floor.

"When the Galra Empire found that they couldn't take us down," the leader explained, "they played dirty and sent out this beast on our planet's surface! Initially, it was in the wilderness, thus we were able to view at as nothing more than an inconvenience. However, with each passing year, the beast was spotted closer to towns and cities. Soon, it set its sights on destroying any living creature it saw, forcing us to retreat underground."

"And you want us to defeat this creature," Shiro assumed.

"Correct. If you truly are not a threat to us, then you'll be willing to lay your lives down to take down this beast."

"Seems a bit extreme to prove our loyalty," Lance put a hand on the table, "but if that's what it takes, then I guess we'll have to do it."

"We don't have a choice," Shiro replied. "It's our duty to protect all planets, no matter what."

 

And so, the gems were escorted back to the surface. But when they got back on top, they heard the entryway back lock firmly.

"They really don't want us back," Hunk pointed out.

"Then let's have them begging for our return," Lance said determinedly. 

Pidge contacted Rover, ordering him to send out some equipment. Flying towards them was a floating carrier that had a camera on a stand as well as a chip. She put the chip inside her goggles and sent the camera to watch the area. 

She was able to catch a live feed of the creature roaming around. Unfortunately, one of the three heads caught sight of the camera and crushed it with its bare teeth.

"NO!"

"Pidge, what's wrong?" Shiro asked.

Pidge removed her goggles, wiping her eye and sniffing. "My camera. My carrier. I worked weeks to get that camera's film quality high and I built that carrier myself."

"We'll get you a new one," Keith replied. "Were you able to spot anything useful?"

Pidge nodded. "The three heads have a long reach, all of them seem to be protecting the body."

"Then the body must be its weak point," Keith summoned his sword. 

"Hey, hold up," Lance said. "We still don't know how we'll take this thing down. Those three heads aren't going to lower their guards, even if there are five of us." Lance held up three fingers. "If we attack it individually, who knows if three of us will be good enough bait." He held up two fingers with his other hand. "And then there's still the additional two." He closed the gap between the two fingers. "Even if the other two fuse, that doesn't mean the remaining three will still be standing."

"What do you suggest we do then?" Keith got rid of his sword.

"We might be able to take it down with a two and three gem fusion," Shiro suggested. 

"But there are three heads," Hunk brought up.

"True, but if we could get rid of the side heads and leave only the middle one, then all that would be left to do would be to form Voltron and take out the monster from there."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Keith shrugged. "But who's gonna fuse with who?"

 

Shiro stood in the center, shaking his body as Keith and Lance danced their way to him. Keith's movements were more reminiscent of a martial arts approach while Lance had a more carefree, provocative form of dancing. Shiro pulled the two of them in his embrace, making all of them fuse into a giant four armed (three-armed if you don't count Shiro's robotic arm), four-eyed person with long, wavy hair. He still retained Shiro's scar, his top layer shirt having its strap hang down from his top right, shoulder. The robotic arm served as the lower arm and he looked ready for a fight.

Hunk and Pidge fused next, with Hidge awaiting Shklance's orders.

"Try to be careful," Shklance warned. 

The fusions spotted the three-headed monster and started their attack. Shklance flew high, luring the right head to him. When the right head started chomping away, he took out his sword and shoved it inside its mouth, making it difficult for the creature to bite down. Shklance powered their hands, holding down on the creature's neck, and sent waves of heat and ice coursing through, steam rising out from their attack. Meanwhile, Hidge summoned a couple of bombs and started throwing them at the left head. The left head swallowed all of them, doing little damage as it belched out smoke. They then made themselves bigger and wrestled against the left head. As they had that head in a headlock, their second mouth bit down on the monster's neck, a surprisingly effective move. They bit down again, this time with sparks of electricity coming out of their teeth when they bit the monster head which soon became limp. All that remained was the center head, going back and forth between Shklance and Hidge.

"Let's not confuse that last one any longer," Shklance remarked, flying down to pick up Hidge. "Let's have it focus on their real threat."

Hidge couldn't agree more, grasping on the set of arms that picked them up. The fusions became Voltron, who used their wings to shoot out metal blades. The middle head could not deflect all of the blades and it was too late by the time it realized it's body had been pierced by some of the blades. It quickly lost its grip, its physical form disappearing. Voltron picked up its gems, bubbling them away back to the castle. 

 

Voltron tapped on the entrance to the tunnels. When the door opened, the leader yelped. 

"They've replaced the first monster with this new one!" he cried out.

"No, we didn't," Voltron said calmly, extending a finger to the leader. "You're all safe now. Please, trust me." 

The leader looked behind Voltron, and upon not seeing the monster anymore, he sighed and shook Voltron's finger.

* * *

Upon entering the castle again, Rover greeted Pidge while Lance and Keith sprawled out on the couch in the lobby.

"That was a lot more work than needed," Keith complained.

"I couldn't agree more," Lance levitated some water to splash on his forehead.

"But you all managed to make an alliance with a planet that hated gems," Allura held her hands together. "That's an accomplishment worth reveling in."

"Yeah, I guess it is. Although, I'm sure I could have won them over with my good looks alone," Lance pulled back his hair with a smile.

"Aren't we considered ugly by their standards?" Hunk leaned forward on the couch.

"Pfft, that was just a hater talking," Lance waved his hand. "They just didn't want to admit how good-looking I really am."

"I don't know, some of the women of that planet didn't seem to look at you in adoration until after we defeated the monster," Pidge remarked.

"Well, regardless, can we just agree that at least one of us stick with either Allura or Coran?" Hunk stood straight.

"Hunk, we're fine," Coran replied. "Nothing happened to us."

"And we didn't hear from you for a day," Shiro argued.

"Right. And we're terribly sorry for that," Allura sighed. "We did not mean to make you all worry."

"We know you didn't," Lance sat up. "But we want to make sure you're doing okay. You know, since you and Coran are made of flesh and all."

"Alright, how about we have Pidge make us something that we all carry on us?" Coran suggested.

"Already working on it," Pidge and Rover got to assembling a new device to hand out to everyone.

She ended up building a transmittor remote, one that had a signal installed in its control panel. Depending on the button pushed, it would send an alert to the castle, making it easier in the event someone had to go out and didn't have reception again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you may have noticed that this chapter came out a lot later than when I typically update. I do apologize for the wait and I feel I have some explaining to do. If you don't feel like reading an overly long explanation, here's the gist of it: Voltron Gems will continue, albeit updates are subject to be slow. I'm currently working on an original work and have a couple of ideas for fics that aren't Voltron related. If you wanna keep in touch or know what I'm up to, you should follow me on Tumblr [@circustalia](http://circustalia.tumblr.com/).
> 
> If you want to know the details, here they are.
> 
> Voltron Gems will continue because I still love working on this AU and there are certain events that I have yet to touch upon, but I really want to share them with you. However, this fic isn't exactly a priority at the moment. I'll still work on it as much as I can, but I do have some other works that I'd like to consider. I have a couple of ideas for new fanfics (not related to Voltron), although those have a different set of reasons as to why I have yet to work on them. 
> 
> However, I do have a main writing project that I'm currently trying to focus more attention on. If you follow me on Tumblr, then you might know that I recently started working on an original novel *0* As of this update, I'm still pushing my way to getting that first draft done and then doing whatever I can to make it as great as I possibly can. I really want to submit a manuscript for this novel to a publishing company so that I can have more people notice me as an author. My short story was self-published and hasn't really gotten a lot of attention, so I feel this project will be something worth reaching for.
> 
> If you'd like to know what I'm up to or just start a conversation with me, then I highly recommend you go over to my Tumblr [@circustalia](http://circustalia.tumblr.com/). You'll hear more from me there than here, so do be sure to check that out. 
> 
> As always, thank you for your support. Your readership is highly appreciated.


	22. Best Shiro Fusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins discuss who makes the best fusion with Shiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I forgot that I had this short piece written up already. Since my writing schedule is going to be different for a while, I figured you guys would enjoy this little treat.

Hunk, Keith, Lance, and Pidge were at the lounge area, all of them comfortably seated on the couch. Pidge was in the middle of inputting coordinates on a map when Lance broke the silence.

“So, I’ve been thinking: if Shiro fuses with any of us, does that automatically make that fusion our new leader?”

Keith leaned his head back. “Uh, yeah. That fusion would still have Shiro in them.”

“So, hypothetically, any of us could be the new leader of our group as long as we fused with Shiro?”

Keith looked at him. “Yeah…..why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

 

Lance smirked. “Well, I was just thinking, if I could get Shiro to fuse with me, then that means, in a weird sort of way, all of you would have to listen to me.”

“Oh, please. Shance is too much of a show-off to take seriously.”

“Hey, I get it, you’re just jealous that Shance is a much more handsome fusion compared to Sheith. It’s cool.”

“More like Shance gets more focused on show than anything else.”

“Well, at least Shance does something. All Sheith ever wants to do is sleep all day.”

“Maybe because Sheith is the better fighter and doesn’t have to waste his energy on meaningless tasks.”

“Guys, come on,” Hunk interrupted. “We all know that fusing with Shiro is great. And it’s because of how good it feels that we listen to any Shiro fusion. So, let’s all agree that Shiro fusions are the best.”

 

Keith and Lance stared at one another, still not satisfied. Then Hunk added, “Besides, we all know that Shunk is the superior fusion leader.”

Keith and Lance responded with a mixture of, “What? Nu-uh. Are you serious?”

“Hey, as Shiro and I are the biggest members of the team, that means, by default, Shunk is the best of the Shiro fusions. Surely you must recognize Shunk’s power and eye for detail.”

“Shunk is nothing but an overly doting parent and you know it,” Lance said.

Hunk put a hand on his chest. “Ah. Well, excuse us for actually thinking about the team first. The way a leader should.”

“Enough, all of you!” Pidge cried out. “I’m trying to get these coordinates right.”

Everyone fell silent, avoiding each other’s gazes. As Pidge fiddled with the map she added, “Obviously, Shidge is the best Shiro fusion.”

 

“Shidge? Really?” Keith asked. “And what does Shidge have that the rest of us don’t?”

Pidge turned away from the map to face them. “Well, Shidge has my brains, Shiro’s agility, and both of our tendencies to use common sense. It makes sense for Shidge to be the best Shiro fusion.”

“Too bad Shidge can never agree on priorities,” Lance argued. “And a leader should always know what to do. Shance is the best leader fusion!”

“Sheith!”

“Shidge!”

“Shunk!”

“Enough!” Shiro scolded as he entered the room. The gems slumped back down to their seats, embarrassed that Shiro heard their argument. Shiro walked over to them. “I’m flattered that all of you love to fuse with me, but we shouldn’t be arguing over which fusion is better. Not when all of you know that I’d rather form Voltron with all of you instead of picking favorites.”

The gems smiled at that statement.

 

“Yeah, I guess Voltron is the best fusion out of all of them,” Keith said, scratching his cheek.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“I’m glad you can see it that way.”

“Are you sure we can’t just fuse with you, one by one, to see which fusion with you makes the better leader?” Lance asked.

“No,” Shiro said bluntly. “And for the record, no fusion with any of you makes a better leader.”

The gems pouted in defeat.


	23. The Kindly Rebel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sven encounters a rebel gem as he monitors Lotor's area of reign. But the encounter takes a turn Sven wouldn't have imagined.

Browsing through the outskirts of the outer planets within Lotor's control, the black star diopside assigned to scan the area was grateful for the assignment. He hadn't fully recovered from the scene of his diamond shattering a gem like that and then planning to play it off as if the gem had it coming. That was unlike his diamond; how could a diamond so gracious and sympathetic destroy another gem like that? Only the worst of the worst of gems ever received execution. And in Lotor's court, it rarely happened. Sure, the emerald was a snob, but he had yet to do anything. Sven piloted his ship, not paying heed to the medallion that laid on top of the control panel. A medallion that was given to him personally by Lotor Diamond.

If Sven could succeed in this mission, then he would be one step closer to being given his own troop to command. Black Star Diopsides were natural leaders. Their purpose is to give orders and ensure success. Sven gripped the steering pad. His scanners beeped. When he looked at the radar, there was another ship within his orbit. He pulled up the communication channel, sending out a signal to the ship.

"Answer your line immediately," he ordered through the microphone. 

There was no response. 

"I said answer immediately! State your name, facet, and cut!"

Another moment passed with no response. Sven gritted his teeth as he set his ship to override the other ship's passage. The other ship was pulled towards him before being set to frozen. He got out of his chair and prepared to descend into the mysterious vessel. There was no doubt in his mind that there was a rebel aboard. If he could turn in a rebel gem to Lotor Diamond, then there would be a chance that Lotor would give them redemption. He had to stop himself from thinking that the emerald's demise was unnecessary. That Lotor Diamond was-

No. Finishing that thought would defeat the purpose of Sven's newfound mission.

 

Sven broke into the mysterious ship by force. He summoned his laser gun, aiming it every which way. The inside was still lit. It would have been in the enemy's favor to have had the power off. Not that it would have deterred Sven. He was a black star diopside. He was meant to handle any situation. He stopped in his tracks as he heard footsteps. He shapeshifted into a small pillar to blend in. Passing by was a masked jade, whose coat fluttered behind him. The jade had a sharpel in his hands. He passed right by Sven. Sven regained his normal appearance and started shooting at the jade.

The jade dodged the blasts, recovering himself as he took a defensive stance.

"Don't move!" Sven ordered. "You'll do as I say."

The jade had his arms raised.

"Take off the mask," Sven continued and the jade followed.

"State your name, facet, and cut."

The jade sighed. "I am Ulaz Jade Facet 1F6L Cut 2XU."

"What is your purpose here? Why didn't you answer my call?"

"I'm afraid my communication lines are down. I was assigned to explore one of the planets here."

Sven narrowed his eyes. "Do you take me for a fool? My Diamond never received word of visitors."

"Your Diamond?" The jade perked his head. "Oh, you must be referring to Lotor Diamond."

"Don't change the subject."

 "Of course," Ulaz said. "I really was sent here by my superiors. I can show you my assignment page if you don't believe me."

Sven had no intention of trusting this gem. Jades aren't known for navigating ships by themselves. If they do get assigned solo missions, they typically use warp pads to their location. Still, if he wanted to be a good leader like the example Lotor tried to set, then he had to give this suspicious gem a chance.

"No sudden movements," Sven gestured for the jade to prove himself.

Ulaz put his arms down, summoning a pillar before him. On the pillar was a pad that he picked up and carried over to Sven. Sven took a look at the log, indicating that Ulaz had indeed been sent there. However, it could have easily been forged.

"Take me to your flight deck."

"Of course, sir."

 

When they reached the pilot room, the screen on the ship revealed that they were on auto-pilot. Ulaz pulled up his communication line, where the screen said that there was no signal.

"As you can see, my communication lines have been damaged."

"By what? And for how long?"

"I'm afraid I was given a faulty ship to pilot."

Sven narrowed his gaze. Did this jade underestimate his ability just because he followed Lotor Diamond? There have been many gems under Lotor's reign that are as good as any gems under Zarkon's. This jade thought he could play him like a fool. Sven had to think. What would he do with this gem? What would Lotor Diamond do? 

Lotor Diamond would crush him where he stands.

Sven flinched. He kept his steady on his gun, although he could feel his finger twitching.

"Is something wrong, Black Star Diopside?"

Sven was brought back to reality. "Nothing for you to worry about."

Ulaz looked at him with sympathy in his eyes. "May I ask you a personal question?"

Sven gritted his teeth. "What?"

"Why do you work under Lotor Diamond?"

Sven took aim at the jade. "Do not forget your place, jade. You may belong to Zarkon, but I still outrank you!"

"That is not what I am implying."

"What else could you possibly imply?"

Ulaz's pose was relaxed. Not an inch of fear was to be found on his body. "I am merely curious. Do you follow Lotor out of duty to the Empire or do you follow him for his ideals?"

"That's rebel talk, jade," Sven warned. "If you must know, I wasn't always under his rule. I used to belong to Zarkon, too."

"Is that so? Do you miss being under his service?"

"Tch, as if. My diamond is kind and patient. He would never discard me, unlike Zarkon."

"For someone that spoke of rebel talk, you don't seem to mind talking down on Zarkon Diamond, the true leader of our empire."

Sven showed off his teeth. "Lotor Diamond is as much of a leader as Zarkon is!" The jade was starting to get on Sven's nerves. "You really ought to give up the tough act. I know you are scared."

"I respect your position, but I'm afraid you do not frighten me."

"And why is that?"

"Because I know what I fight for."

Sven lowered his gun. It was then that he realized that Ulaz did not make any sneaky movements. His arms and legs were visible where he could see them. He didn't make a sound to activate some sort of voice-controlled device. 

"Please," Ulaz gestured to the seat, "let us talk."

Sven got rid of his weapon. "Pull a seat for yourself, too. Don't want to be the only one sitting down."

A chair swiveled it's way to where they were. Both sat at opposite sides of one another.

 

"What troubles you, Black Star Diopside?" Ulaz asked, resting his arms on the armrest.

"Please, call me Sven," the diopside cleared up. "What gave you the impression that I was distressed?"

"Your body language. You spaced out earlier while you were interrogating me. I assume you must have something on your mind."

"And if I refuse to talk about it."

Ulaz nodded. "Then that is your choice. We can talk about anything else. Perhaps, how a diopside like you came into Lotor's service."

That was an easy story to tell. Sven leaned back, his legs crossed. "It was many years ago. You look like you were made prior to the civil war. I was manufactured during it. My defect was that I did not have steel wings like the others. Thus, I was often sent to the front lines. But I survived. After that war, there was no use for me. Luckily, I did not wait long as I was used to establish New Daibazaal on our worst ally turned enemy. And from there, I was sent to the front lines over and over again. That is, until I and many other defective gems were sent away to a desolate part of the empire and were to be under the rule of a new leader."

"Lotor."

"Correct. You probably haven't been in the presence of Lotor Diamond. Not many gems within the main part of the empire have. But he is so different from Zarkon. The difference is astounding. Sure, Zarkon is intimidating and strong, but Lotor Diamond is much more tactile and humble. He does not give up. He makes use of us, even willing to overlook some of our original purposes for the sake of maintaining a colony that will always run." Sven put a fist over his chest. "I am proud to be under Lotor Diamond. He gave me glory that went unrecognized before. He has used me much more effectively. He...."

Sven's fist loosened. The face of the emerald flashed before him. The mural of Lotor having a planet within his grasp disturbed him over the newfound meaning behind it. He let his fist fall on his leg.

Ulaz scooted closer to the diopside. "Do not worry." Ulaz gave a small smile. "What do you fight for?"

"I fight for my empire, of course."

Ulaz shook his head. "What are you fighting for? What do you want to win?"

Sven looked down on his hands. What he wanted to fight for? What he believed in? Although he saw Lotor Diamond in a new light, he couldn't deny the very reason he became attached to him. 

"I want to prove that anyone can be useful. That we," he clenched his fist again before putting it over his chest, his gem location, "that I am more than what anyone says I am. And that there are no defects, in anyone, including those made of flesh." The image of the gem hybrids flashed before his eyes.

Ulaz nodded. "If that is what you fight for, then you should know that neither diamond will advocate that cause." He opened his palms. "You were right. I am a rebel. That is all I am willing to say. If you want to turn me over to Lotor Diamond, then I won't back down from a fight. If you choose not to, then I will trust your judgement on what you do with the information at hand."

Sven slumped his shoulders, rising from his seat. "Lotor Diamond won't know about this. You are free to go."

Ulaz smiled. "Thank you."

"There is one thing I would like to know."

Ulaz perked an eyebrow.

"Why have you been so civil towards me? You are not on my side. We are enemies, no?"

Ulaz hovered a hand over the control panel. "We do not have to be. The Galra Empire has promoted dangerous ways of thinking, encouraging us to fight when our issues could be discussed in a civil manner. And such ways has destroyed many planets." He pulled up images of planets that have been depleted of their life sources. "Our pride has cost countless planets and civilizations their lives. Those we have not destroyed have been forced to become our drones. Even if you leave this ship with the intent of exposing me, I hope you know that you have options on how you want to fight for your ideals." Ulaz removed the images. "If you decide you want to join my cause, search for me."

Sven turned away from Ulaz, going back to his own ship.

 

As Sven piloted away from the rebel ship, he thought about what the jade told him. Sven could not give up his pride as a gem, but perhaps he didn't have to. He opened up the recorder.

"32 hours have passed. Minor setback with the ship, otherwise all is normal. No sign of suspicious activity."


	24. Brashness and a Gazillionare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Keith decides to go out by himself, Hunk, Pidge, and Lance work together to bring him back. It'll take all of their power to make sure he's safe.

A hologram of the star maps was brought out alongside images of quintessence vials. Allura pointed a finger at one of the images of the vial and trailed it along to one of the planets.

"The leaders of the last planet have informed me that there are three neighboring planets that have fallen victim to having their quintessence sucked out of them inconspicuously," a row of images showing various aliens popped up, "they believe that these suspects are responsible for leading the Galra to their homes and perhaps even responsible for placing posts where the quintessence can be collected."

"Wait, why would they lead the Galra to their own homes?" Lance asked. "They're essentially destroying the very thing they live on, that doesn't make any sense."

"Unfortunately, the Galra have their ways of convincing people to fight for them," Coran shook his head. "This was an empire that managed to create an alliance with many planets before they started colonizing everything in their path."

"Whatever the case may be, these traitors have yet to be found," Allura continued. "Our real objective is to find out where they planted the machines to extract the quintessence and how they're taking said quintessence without detection."

"I can try and build something that could help with finding where those posts are," Pidge recommended. "I'd need to run a few tests, but it can be done."

"That's a good suggestion," Shiro praised. "But we'll also need to find out how fast the life force of these planets are being depleted at so we know how much time we have before they get destroyed."

"That might be a bit harder to figure out," Hunk said. "It could work differently for each individual planet. We'd have to take into consideration the contents of each planet. One could last as long as a day while another could take years before we can begin panicking."

"Guys, why don't we just find the suspects," Keith said in an annoyed tone. "If we can find the rogues, then we can make them tell us where they placed the posts."

"Were you not paying attention right now?" Lance scoffed. "They haven't been found. It'd be too much effort to go looking for them."

"It would be worth it. We find them, get the information out of them, and then they can be properly punished for putting their planets' lives in danger."

Lance shapeshifted into one of the pictured suspects, a squid-like creature with spots on their head and clothing that's versatile for their tentacles to move around in.

"Look, you found one," Lance said mockingly. "Happy now?"

"Lance!" Keith gritted, before being pulled back by Shiro.

"Enough, you two!" Shiro scolded. "Lance, that was uncalled for."

Lance shifted back to his original form, refusing to meet Shiro's gaze. Shiro turned his attention to Keith.

"Keith, I understand why you want to find these rogues. But it won't help. Our focus is to protect the planets and ensure their safety as quickly as possible. We have to focus on our priorities."

"How is this not a priority?!" Keith shot his fists down to his side.

"Keith, please. It is important, but we need a more efficient way of finding and destroying those posts. And I'm sorry, but tracking down those criminals may take up more time than if we find the posts ourselves."

Keith furrowed his brows, sticking his shoulder out as he turned around. 

"If that's what you wanna do fine," he said under his breath. "Just tell me when you need me."

Everyone looked at him in concern, unbeknownst to them that Keith was planning on using his method to find the traitors.

* * *

It was the middle of the night as Pidge continued to work on the tracker. She was near completion of the beta and she was confident that it would be ready for testing in the morning. Coran walked by, carrying a cup in hand and stepped in the room to greet her.

"Ah, Pidge, still hard at work I see," he said. "How's progress going?"

"It's moving along," Pidge answered as she attached another part to the mechanism. "It'll be ready soon enough." Pidge turned around to face him, noticing him in his nightwear. "You should probably go back to sleep."

"Who, me? Nonsense," Coran pointed his thumb at himself, "I can stay up all night long!" 

"Yeah, but don't Alteans need sleep like most living organisms? Especially because of your age."

"Excuse me?!"

Pidge went back to putting the pieces together for her tracker. "Yeah, I heard that older organisms of species typically require more rest compared to younger ones."

Coran chuckled. "Shows what you know. I'm considered rather fit for my age, thus I'm just as cool as any young kid."

"Really?" Pidge turned the beta on, making sure that the power levels matched her calculations.

"Mhmm. I know my way with speaking to the young crowd. I can be hip and cool," Coran took a sip of his drink.

"KEITH'S GONE!" Hunk shouted, causing Coran to spit out his drink.

"What?!"

Both he and Pidge perked up at Hunk's announcement. 

"Follow me!"

All three ran across the halls of the castle before reaching the entrance of Keith's room. When the door opened, he wasn't inside.

"Maybe he went to train?" Pidge shrugged her shoulders.

Hunk shook his head. "I checked the training room, but he wasn't there, either."

"My goodness, where can he be?" Coran asked.

"I might have an idea..."

Just then, Lance stomped in on them. He was in a robe with a face mask on tapping his foot once he was in front of them.

"And just what is all this commotion about? I am trying to sleep." He gave a slight chuckle before presenting his face. "Not that I need beauty sleep, but I have to set a good example for the fleshlings."

"Lance, Keith's gone," Hunk informed him.

"Oh. Good," Lance smiled and closed his eyes before he realized the gravity of those words. "Wait, what?!"

"Hunk, you were gonna tell us where you think Keith went," Pidge said.

"Right," Hunk led the group to the room where they had the meeting earlier. Once inside, Hunk opened up the screens and back logs to show that someone had been browsing through the files. A picture of an alien that had four arms, grey skin, and snake-like eyes came out alongside his planet and coordinates to who knows where appeared. "Keith must have gone out to find one of the traitors to have them reveal where those posts are. I checked the garage and noticed a pod was missing."

"I knew it!" Lance huffed. "I can't believe Keith's letting his jealousy get in the way of the mission."

"I can't say I entirely disagree with you," Pidge added, sighing.

"Wait til Shiro and Allura hear about this."

"We can't tell Shiro or Allura," Hunk argued. "That'll make things worse."

"Yeah, thanks to Keith. If he hadn't gone off on his own, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Plus, Shiro might actually know what to do," Pidge brought up. "Keith is bound to listen to him."

"And what if Keith's in danger?" Hunk asked. "We might end up getting Shiro in danger, too, and we shouldn't risk that."

"Our options are pretty limited here," Coran looked up at the coordinates. "This area doesn't seem familiar to me. Any chance Keith could have a communication device so that we can get a hold of him."

"Doubt it," Lance scoffed. "Knowing him, he probably disabled all ways to contact him."

"What are we supposed to do? We can't risk losing Shiro's leadership, but we also don't know a way to get him out."

"We have to think of something. I know we may not be able to bring him back, but we gotta think of something."

Lance perked up at the mention of them bringing him back. He looked back and forth between Hunk and Pidge and then looked down at his own gem.

"Maybe we can't bring him back," Lance thought aloud, "but I think I know someone who can." A grin formed on his face.

Hunk and Pidge immediately recognized that grin.

"Lance, you really don't think-"

Lance nodded.

Pidge was quick to dismiss the notion. "No, we can't. He'd never listen to them."

"Listen to who?" Coran asked in confusion.

"He won't listen to us," Lance gestured to all of them. "But if we fuse, we'll be strong enough to drag him back if need be." Lance sighed and frowned, moving his head back. "But, if you don't want to fuse with me because you think I'll be a third wheel, then I understand."

Hunk and Pidge looked at each other again, shaking their heads as they contained their giggles. They went to stand side by side with him, Pidge getting on top of a chair to be closer to his level. 

"You know we don't think that," Hunk told him before he and Pidge gave Lance a kiss on his cheeks. 

Lance smiled, bringing the two in his hold.

"So, shall we do it?"

They nodded, but before they could fuse, Coran spoke up again.

"Hold up, I can't let you three go off on your own. I'm coming with you!"

"I don't know, Coran, it could be dangerous," Hunk warned.

Coran crossed his arms. "And we don't know how you'll be taken. Best to be safe than sorry."

"I guess he has a point," Pidge admitted.

"Alright, Coran, you can pretend to be our manager." Lance shrugged.

"Manager? For what?"

The three of them moved to give each other more space. Hunk and Pidge indicated for Lance to take the lead, which he did. Lance started with Hunk then switched to Pidge before going back to Hunk. When he and Hunk were close, they turned to Pidge and knelt down, keeping their arms open for her to come in with them. When they lifted her up, their forms merged into one, giant person. They had six arms, three on each side, and three eyes that were covered with transparent goggles. Their hair hung loose behind their back, with two pieces in front and held together by hair pieces. They looked down on Coran, smiling.

"Manager for me," the fusion smiled as they pointed at themself. 

* * *

Keith found himself surrounded by hooligans. The building was full of shady looking characters that proudly displayed wanted signs of a few patrons that had been issued by the planet's official police force. He could hear bits and pieces of conversations of some of these people bragging about how the Galra would pay big time for certain resources native to that planet and the neighboring ones. He held in his anger for them. It was people like them that were causing the lives of millions. He shook his head until he spotted a lone person sitting at a table. He took the picture out of his gem and confirmed that it was the same one who supposedly implanted the device that was sucking the planet's quintessence. He took a deep breath. He had to play it cool long enough until he could get that information out of him. He waltzed right over, taking a seat in front of the man.

The man raised an eyebrow, staring at Keith in disbelief.

"What do you want, kid?" 

Keith put his arms on the table. "You Heia?"

"What's it to ya?"

So far, so good.

"I'm looking to get some quintessence."

"'scuse me?"

Keith threw a picture of vialed quintessence.

"I hear the Galra pay top dollar for this stuff," Keith played on. "And I hear you know how to get some."

Heia scoffed. "As if I'd tell a punk like you where that is. 'sides, how do you even know I know where it's at."

Keith cocked his head. "You look like someone that would know."

Heia eyed Keith, narrowing his gaze before waving one of his hands. "I don't got time to waste on you. Get outta here before I throw you out."

Keith was threw playing pretend. He put his hands underneath the table, ready to summon his weapon when something crashed into the place. 

Or rather someone.

A fusion of three.

Keith's face fell.

"Oh no," he said silently to himself.

"What's up, ya'll?!" The fusion managed to squeeze their way into what was a tiny space for them. And they weren't alone. Coran was behind them, wearing an extravagant suit that he aired out from the sides. 

Everyone was either intimidated or concerned about the fusion being inside. A burly patron approached them.

"Hey, who do you think you are? Coming in here like you own the place," he tried to puff out his chest.

The fusion looked down at him, laughing as they reached down. The patron immediately shivered, cowering down as the fusion grabbed a machine that was behind him. 

"Hm...I think I could fix this," and with their arms, they disassembled and put back together the machine as they took out a drive from their pocket, placing it inside the machine as a remix of music blared. The other patrons found themselves dancing along as the fusion helped a few waiters with passing out drinks and appetizers.

Before Keith could drag the suspect outside, the fusion waved and called him down.

"Yo, Keith!" they made their way over to him.

Keith grew agitated, but the suspect that had shooed him away became intrigued at the event that was unfolding.

"Keith, it's been a while," the fusion said, putting a couple of arms around him.

"Not long enough," Keith muttered.

"And who might you be?" the suspect asked.

"Me? I don't really have a proper name, but most people 'round these parts know me as Hidgance."

Coran slid a card down to the man. "And I'm their manager."

"Manager?"

Hidgance whispered in the suspect's ear. "Just a ruse, really. He's more like an assistant."

Heia nodded. "And uh, how do you know him?" He pointed to Keith.

"It's nothing, they're-"

"Why, I'm Keith's ex."

Keith's face turned red from a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

"Ex, huh?"

"Yeah, we go way back. I see he's just as clueless as ever when it comes to making deals."

Keith's arms were shaking.

"Deals? How'd you know what he was up to?"

Keith was about to summon his sword when Hidgance kept talking.

"Please, his posture, the way he sat, and that look in his eyes. As dreamy as I thought they once were, they give away everything he's thinking. I mean, he was never really good at surprises."

Keith slammed his head on the table.

"And how did someone like you end up with him?"

"Well, that's an interesting story-"

"That doesn't need to be heard!" Keith slammed his hands as he stood upright. "Hidgance, can I have a word with you?"

Hidgance chuckled. "Sorry, baby, but I've moved on."

Keith was starting to see red.

"Uh, Hidgance," Coran leaned in on them, "I thought we were here to help Keith."

Hidgance perked their center eyebrow. "Hm? Oh, right," Hidgance straightened their voice. "I guess if you really wanna talk so badly, Keith, we can for a few. I mean, I guess no one can get over passing up a gazillionare."

"A gazillionare?" Heia asked.

Keith broke the table with his head. "Can we just go, please?!"

Before Hidgance could pick up Keith, Heia stopped them.

"Hey, mind if I have a word with you real quick outback?"

Hidgance froze. "Uh....," they pretended to cough. "S-sure. Coran, you take Keith to my ride. I'll be right back." 

Hidgance and Heia left through the back door and once they were out of sight, Keith nearly pulled his hair out.

"Why are you guys here?!" he screeched.

"Keith, calm down."

"Do Shiro or Allura even know you're here?"

"You're one to talk. You snuck off on your own."

"And I was getting somewhere until you and Hidgance showed up!"

"I don't know about that," Coran looked away from Keith's gaze. 

Keith kicked a nearby chair. He pulled his hair back before facing Coran again. "Look, I know I left without saying anything, but it was for a good reason. If we don't get Heia to tell us where the posts are, then we may never find them."

"And did you think you could get it out of him alone?"

Keith was about to answer, pulling his hand back as he thought about what he would have done to get Heia to talk. He sighed.

"Alright. Well, right now, I think Hidgance might need us. I don't know where you guys parked, but my pod is closeby. We can use that to help them get enough time to leave."

Coran nodded and the two left the building.

 

 

Hidgance had their body leaned against the building as they looked down on Heia. Heia looked around their surroundings before speaking.

"I gotta admit, that gazillionare jig almost made me laugh," he said. "You seem to know how to keep people fooled."

Hidgance shrugged. "Yeah I guess." They had their lowest arms behind their back, holding their hands tightly, almost fearfully.

"Tell ya what," Heia pulled out a vial of quintessence, "Cuz I like you, I'll tell ya how to get some of this."

Hidgance's thoughts were whirling. They felt themselves slipping up, but placed a third hand on top of the clenched two. They held it in.

"Oh, and what do you know about getting that?"

Heia took out a handheld device. "It's pretty easy. You just gotta implant the machine and then cover up it's location with a camouflage barrier. The barrier is made up of silvenin that allows it to go unnoticed by any radars. The trick, though, is that you gotta plant the machine in an area that's as low on ground as possible in order for it to work."

"Like a crater or something?" Hidgance asked.

"Yeah, something like that."

Hidgance reached for the vial, but Heia put it back in his pocket. 

"Nu-uh. I still need some form of payment. What do ya got?"

Hidgance started to sweat badly. They hadn't actually meant to talk to Heia. But they got caught up trying to look cool that they lost sight of their goal. They hoped that at least Coran and Keith would be safe. As they were about to unfuse, a pod came crashing down their way. Out from the pod was Keith, wielding his sword and standing in front of them.

"Leave my friend alone!" Keith warned.

Heia chuckled. He took out an electric stick. "Figures I'd  be dealing with rebel gems."

Keith blocked all of Heia's attacks, but missed him every time he swung his sword. He did manage to get a kick on Heia, who then smacked Keith's gut with the stick, although he didn't electrocute him just yet.

"At least your empire gives me a place to stay before they suck every last piece of life from this planet!" Heia turned the stick on, which was then kicked out of his grasp by Coran.

"They aren't a part of the Galra Empire," Coran said.

Hidgance picked Heia up, putting him in a bubble that was teleported back to the castle.

"Allura will know what to do with him." They looked down at Keith, who put his sword away and faced them. "Uh, listen," Hidgance rubbed their neck, "I'm sorry I ruined your mission. I know you were just trying to do what you thought would be best to save everyone on this planet and the neighboring ones."

"No, I'm sorry," Keith's hair swayed. "I know you were trying to help. And maybe we could have done this better if I told you what was going on. Still, I'm mad that we couldn't get Heia to tell us where those posts are."

"Maybe not," Hidgance smiled, "but I know how we can find them."

* * *

When they got back to the castle, they were met with a confused Shiro and Allura. Shiro had freed Heia from the bubble, but tied him up so he wouldn't get away. Allura interrogated him until Hidgance, Keith, and Coran entered. They told the story of what happened and Hidgance revealed that while they were on their way back to the castle, they re-modified their initial tracking device to pick up traces of silvenin.

"You were re-building that while piloting a pod?!" Allura narrowed her eyes.

"Relax, Allura, the pod's alright," Hidgance said. "It was kind of a boring ride since Coran fell asleep. I needed something to entertain me."

Allura shook her head before taking a look at the device.

"And will this work?"

"It should."

"Very well. We'll test it out immediately."

She and Coran left the room, leaving the gems to themselves. Shiro let out a sigh.

"I can't say I'm happy with how you got yourselves in that situation." Keith and Hidgance bit their lips. But Shiro relaxed his body. "But you did manage to get valuable information while also making something that will help us save these planets." He took his wings out and flew to Hidgance's head level. "And you managed to both save Keith and stop him from doing something he'd regret." He placed a kiss on Hidgance's cheek before gliding down and putting his wings away.

Hidgance smiled, holding their cheek. "Ah, well, you know," they carried Keith up in their arms, "couldn't let Keith cause more property damage than that table."

"Table?" Shiro cocked an eyebrow.

Keith shook his head. "Not important." He looked at Hidgance. "Will you unfuse now?"

"Why? Are you starting to fall for me?" Hidgance fluttered their eyelashes. "I guess if Shiro couldn't resist my charm, you probably couldn't either."

Keith shuddered before getting an idea. He smirked. "Oh, sure, Hidgance. You're completely irrestitable," he said sarcastically, but also while he brushed their hair strand. "So much so that I just have to give you a gratitude kiss."

"A what?"

Keith put his lips quickly on Hidgance's before pulling out. He lept out of their arms as Hidgance touched their lips. 

"You, you," they were trying to comprehend what happened. Their face then turned to disgust. "Ew, Keith! That's gross!"

Hidgance broke apart, Hunk, Pidge, and Lance lying on the floor. Lance got to his feet first as he rubbed his tongue. 

"I'm gonna have to find a new beauty regime for the lips!" Lance complained. "I got Keith germs all over me."

"Quit exaggerating," Pidge said. "It was only a peck."

"Speak for yourself!" Lance bolted out of the room.

"Will he be alright?" Hunk asked.

"He'll be fine," Shiro answered as he pulled Keith into his arm. "All of you will be. I can say for certain that Keith germs aren't deadly." He gave Keith his own kiss before everyone else dispersed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everyone. I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Voltron Gems. I may still be busy with other things, but I plan on writing more content for this AU, so I hope you look forward to that.


	25. A Shoulder to Cry On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being one of the last remaining members of a species can feel lonely. For this princess, she has friends who know that she just needs someone to be there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A brief chapter, but one I've been wanting to do for a while. I really wanted to write with Allura a bit more, so I hope you enjoy.

Allura woke up tossing and turning from her sleep. She sat upright, reaching for her tiara that held her blue shard. As her thumb ran across it, she realized her forehead felt naked without it. She put her tiara on, pressing the shard against her skin feeling more complete with it. But even that could not lull her. The mice remained silently sleeping next to her. She smiled gently down at them, getting out of bed and clutching her night robe around her. 

She went to the main deck, staring out at the stars that the castle passed by. She approached her panel, opening up a map and searching for Altea. Or rather, New Daibaazal. The planet looked so different. It had changed so much. Her finger nearly pressed on a button that would allow her to see what New Daibaazal looked from within. She could have tried to find any sign of what was there. Instead, she closed the map. There would be nothing to find. Zarkon Diamond had gotten rid of any traces of Altean life. She didn't have to see for herself what he erased. 

 

Allura continued her walk through the corridors, trying to remain silent as to not disturb the gems. Granted, she had doubts that they were asleep, but she knew that they would need some type of rest or break from their mission to defend the universe. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted Hunk and Shiro, inside the boiler room. They were larger than their average size, Hunk holding pipes together and giving instructions to Shiro on how to fix it with his Galra arm. 

"A little more down," Hunk said.

Shiro moved his arm, the pipes heating up nicely. 

"Aaaaaaand, there!" Hunk let go of the pipes. 

The two shrunk back down to their normal sizes, Shiro wiping sweat off his forehead. 

"Thanks for helping me out, Hunk," Shiro said. "The princess and Coran shouldn't have to worry about maintenance for a while."

"I hope so," Hunk replied. "It's a good thing we got to it when we did. Who knows what Alteans can or can't handle."

Allura stiffled a giggle. She was about to head back, but Shiro seemed to have spotted her already.

"Princess?"

Allura faced them. "Oh, hello, you two."

"What are you doing up? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Allura straightened out her nightgown. "I'm fine, Shiro. I just needed to get a glass of water, that's all."

"But isn't the kitchen at the other side of the castle?" Hunk pointed out.

"Um...yes, it is," Allura raised a finger, "but I thought, if I walked around a bit, then I'd get tired faster. Can't get a good night's rest without feeling tired."

Shiro and Hunk eyed each other.

"Allura, are you sure everything's okay?" Shiro asked.

Allura leaned against the wall. "It's nothing important. It's a more personal issue."

"How personal?" Hunk began to look worried.

"Just reminiscing and such." She placed her hand on the wall, scratching her fingers on it.

"Allura?"

She gave small smile, holding back her tears. "I need to get rid of such melancholic feelings. Unlike you five, I don't have an excuse." She pushed her head against her hand. "My home is gone for good. No matter what I try to do."

Hunk and Shiro looked at one another, giving each other a knowing look as they interlocked hands. Light surrounded them and a new voice spoke up.

"Allura."

Allura looked to see Shunk waiting for her, arms open. She ran to him, letting the tears fall down her face. Shunk combed her hair back and held her with care.

"I know I'm asking a lot out of you to be here," Allura whispered, "and maybe I'm a hypocrite because of how much I want to go back to Altea. But these planets need you. And I can't be letting my homesickness get in the way of that."

Shunk looked down at her solemnly. He tilted her head forward. 

"You may be right about not letting your feelings get the best of you," he wiped a tear with his thumb, "but that doesn't mean you have to stop missing your home. You have every right to miss your planet, your father, and everything that made up your home. I can't imagine what you must be going through. But I can at least be there for you whenever you need me." Shunk kissed the top of her head, making her feel more relieved and it nearly sparked a light inside her to glow.

Allura may not have glowed, but she didn't have to. She patted his shoulders. "Thank you." He put her down and she wiped the last of her tears. "I'm starting to feel drowsy now. I believe I'll be going back to bed."

Shunk smiled. "Goodnight, Princess. Call for me if you need a listening ear."

Allura nodded before heading back to her room. She slept easier after that night. 


	26. Certainty vs. Uncertainty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Shiro remembers who saved him from New Daibazaal, he convinces Allura to seek out the gems who helped him. Allura isn't happy about these events, but it seems like there's more tension in the air beyond that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to stress the open relationships tag. Like, really, REALLY stress that point. Please keep that in mind as you read this chapter.

Shiro laid on his bed, trying to sleep at the insistance of Keith. Although he would have very much liked to have become Sheith to sleep, he wanted to give Keith some time to interact with the others. Although he knew Keith sometimes had a difficult time getting along with the other gems, he knew Keith was opening up to them slowly but surely. He had been learning new things from them and had a sense of protecting them just as much Shiro himself. _If Keith could learn to control his outbursts, he'd surely make for a great leader_ , Shiro thought. He had tried discussing it with the red spinel, only to be met with desperation for the diopside to never leave. Of course Shiro would never leave the team out of his own free will. But if his arm could get taken away, then who knew what could happen to him.

Speaking of his arm, Shiro opened and closed his robotic fist in thought. How did he get this arm in the first place, anyway? From what he could remember, the Galra had successfully taken his arm away and were most likely going to shatter him. If they didn't shatter him, then something worse. More experiments? Either way, he didn't think they had given him that arm. A flash came to his mind.

* * *

Shiro was inside a cell, laying limply between the wall and the floor. His eyes were dazed, his fingers from his now only arm twitching. He had overheard the jades and peridots conclude that he would be of no more use. They would seek approval from Haggar to have him shattered. Of course, he could hear them bitterly whisper how it was also likely that she would want to keep him around for who knows what. 

He didn't bother to turn when he heard footsteps echoing down the hall. It didn't surprise him when the cell had disappeared at the command of whoever was outside. 

"Get up, quickly," the gem said in a low voice. 

Shiro couldn't bring himself to lift his head. "What's the rush?" his voice was dry. "I'll get shattered anyway. Or maybe you'd like to take away another limb."

The gem hunched over, quickly glancing over his shoulder. "You won't be shattered."

Shiro glanced at him. It was a jade, one that had desperate eyes. "What?"

The jade put a finger over his lips. "You won't be shattered. I won't allow them to do that to you. Do you trust me?"

He blinked. "I...I guess?"

The jade pulled him up, holding his single arm behind his back as they exited the cell. 

"H-hey, what-"

"Quiet, prisoner!" Ulaz shouted, although his grip did not tighten. He leaned in his ear. "Follow my lead and you will be taken to sanctuary."

Shiro realized that they were headed the opposite way of the lab. "W-where are you taking me?" he asked softly.

"I'll explain when we get to the pod," Ulaz kept an eye out for anyone.

"Will you at least tell me your name?"

* * *

Shiro shot up from his bed.

"Ulaz," he pressed the buttons on his arms and before him were coordinates.

 

Shiro's arm was hooked up to the computer system, Pidge typing away and rotating the map. 

"These coordinates lead straight into Galra territory," she commented, before stopping at the planet in question. "New Daibazaal, no less. Are you sure this is where you were supposed to be sent?"

"I'm positive," Shiro answered. "Ulaz was working undercover for the Blade of Marmora, but he managed to take me to a safe zone hidden deep inside the planet. There might even be Marmora ships stationed outside of it."

"I do not want us stepping foot anywhere on that planet!" Allura put her hands on her hips, narrowing her gaze. "It's surely a trap. We can't go risking ourselves to Zarkon for this!"

"I don't know, Princess," Shiro pleaded, "I'd say it's worth it. It has to be."

"Worth it if we want to lose the only solution to stopping Zarkon!" 

"Princess, please! I know it's hard for you to go there after what Zarkon did to your homeplanet, but we must."

"We may have allies in there," Coran chimed in. 

"Allies who have been dormant for far too long," Allura's displeasure grew.

"I think Allura may have a point," Keith put his hand on the table. "How can we trust them?"

Shiro looked up to Keith. "Keith, please. I need you to trust me." He looked everywhere. "I need all of you."

"Won't we be spotted though?" Hunk raised a finger. "This castle isn't exactly a Galra ship."

"We may not have to," Shiro pointed at a coordinate that was edged outside of marked Galra territory. "That ship is supposed to contain a Marmora member. If that's the case, we might be able to get them to help us enter New Daibazaal without being spotted." He turned to Allura. "And if they turn out to be a threat, we'll take that one down and move on."

Allura sighed. "Fine. I'll steer the castle in that direction. Send that map to my control panel."

"On it," Pidge typed away.

 

Shiro retreated down the depths of the castle, eyeing the bubbled gems in their captivity. He had once been a prisoner, too, but he thought about whether or not it would have been better to have been bubbled. He didn't hear Lance coming in, who kept staring at him. Lance wasn't sure what to do or if he should say anything at all. Still, he had made it that far and he had to do something.

"Hey, hey, Shiro," Lance said as nonchalantly, but still rather conspicuously as possible, holding his fingers up to the diopside. 

Shiro didn't say anything. Lance dropped his hands. 

"Shiro?" He tugged at Shiro's shirt.

Shiro blinked, looking down at the lazuli next to him. "Oh, Lance. Did you need something?"

Lance bit his lip. "Nah, just....just wanted to see how you were doing," he forced himself to smile.

"Um...okay, I guess."

Lance sulked again. "Are you sure?" Great, here his hero was, clearly feeling depressed and he asked a question with such a clear answer. Lance couldn't take him being so down. Shiro was his hero, his friend, and something a bit more. 

Luckily, Shiro didn't seem annoyed at Lance's question. "Truthfully, there's a lot on my mind." 

 _He's opening up to me. Yes!_ Lance brushed against Shiro's fingers. "Wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know," Shiro gathered Lance's fingers against his own. "I mean, Allura is rightfully concerned about the danger we're heading into. I just don't know what I can do to ease her uncertainty."

"Because you're certain that we won't head into danger," Lance guessed, taking in Shiro's touch.

Shiro nodded.

"You know, Allura is probably just scared," Lance shrugged. "I'm sure she doesn't have anything against you personally." He couldn't look Shiro in the eyes. _Oh no. Quick, Lance, think._ "B-but, you are our leader and a very capable one at that! I mean, you've beaten the Galra before!" His voice was getting higher and more excited. "You led so many to victory, even when the odds were against you! You helped gems start their own civilization! And all of that because you had trust. Trust in others. Yourself," Lance locked his eyes with Shiro, "Allura has probably noticed all of that about you since we started defending the universe. You just have to give her time to let her fears go."

Shiro smiled, using his other hand to rub Lance's cheek. "I appreciate your words of comfort."

Lance could have melted right then and there. If only he had.

"Shiro," Keith's voice called out.

Shiro let go of Lance, although Lance still pined for him.

"Keith, what's up?"

Keith walked up to them. "I got worried when I didn't find you in your room. Is everything okay?"

Shiro chuckled. "Yeah," he gestured his head towards Lance. "Lance actually came down here with that same concern."

Lance blushed. "Yeah, heh."

"Should I expect Hunk and Pidge to come down as well? Have us become Voltron for a bit?"

Keith shook his head. "Unfortunately, they're both busy with Coran and Allura." He pushed himself to Shiro. "I'm more concerned about what's going on in that head of yours. Although, you look a bit more relieved."

"Again, you can thank Lance for that."

Keith turned his head to Lance. "Oh." The red spinel got close to the lapis lazuli. He put his hand on the blue gem's chest before whispering in his ear. "Thank you."

Lance blinked.

"You have no idea how stiff he was earlier," Keith continued. "You really helped him out," he kissed Lance's shoulder blade. 

"Yeah, I guess I did." Lance couldn't help but notice how Keith looked at Shiro with much more certainty than him. And who could blame him? Keith was amazing in his own right (even if Lance would never say it in front of Keith). 

"I, uh, gotta go do something," Lance pointed to the door.

"Huh? But you just got here," Shiro said.

"Yeah, Lance, you can stay if you want," Keith added.

Lance shook his head. "No, it's, it's really important stuff. I just wanted to make Shiro was fine. And he is!" Lance opened his arms. "So, my work here is done."

"Okay," Shiro brought Keith closer to him. "You know you don't have to feel like you're being kicked out. All of us would welcome you with open arms."

"I know," Lance didn't face them. "It's just, I think I might need to borrow Hunk for a bit."

"If you say so," Keith shrugged.

Lance knew that he wasn't Shiro's true partner. Sure, all of them were 'partners' in the sense that they could all go to one another for love and reassurance. But he wasn't capable of being the one for Shiro. Or even an equal partner like Keith. Keith would know what to do. He always knew how to take care of Shiro. They did know each other before the Kerberos incident. Lance just had to consider himself lucky to share a bond with Keith, Pidge, Hunk, and Allura. With Shiro. His hero.

When the door closed behind Lance, he let a tear run down. Maybe he needed Hunk after all.

 

 

Once Lance left, Keith squeezed Shiro.

"What did you tell him?"

Shiro combed Keith's hair through his fingers. "How concerned I am about Allura taking all of this."

"Is that true?"

"Yes," he moaned, pressing his lips against Keith's head. "But...there's more to that."

Keith sighed. "The Marmora. You're afraid of how she'll react to them. And you're anxious to meet them again."

"Yeah," Shiro said solemnly. "I don't expect her to like them right away, but I hope she can keep an open mind to them. And then there's Ulaz. Gosh, it's been so long. I don't know what he'll think when he sees me again."

"It might be hard to get her to keep that open mind," Keith nuzzled himself in Shiro's chest, "but it's you. Everyone here has a soft spot for you. And in the end, we all trust you. I'm sure the same could be said about that Ulaz guy. He wouldn't have rescued you if he didn't have some positive feelings towards you."

Shiro smiled. "Thanks," he squeezed Keith back. He rested his head atop his. "But you know, you're gonna have to start opening up more yourself."

"I have been opening up more," Keith muffled his response. "Just the other day, I spent some quality time with Hunk and then Pidge joined us, too. I've even tried being nice to Lance, but he's always picking a fight."

Shiro chuckled. "I don't mean opening up in that sense." His expression fell, hands firmly on the red spinel's shoulders. "Keith, I need you to start taking time with them seriously. They'll need you if something happens to me."

Keith's eyes widened. He pushed himself away from Shiro. "Stop talking like that!" he nearly shouted. "Nothing will ever happen to you."

"Keith, I'm not saying something will happen to me," Shiro raised his hands gently. "All I'm saying is that we need to be ready. We have to be cautious and think about the greater good. If something happened to me, I need to know that you guys can go on protecting the universe without me."

"Nothing will happen to you!" Keith stomped his foot. "Voltron is all we need to take down Zarkon Diamond. And Voltron can only come out if you're with us. I won't let you leave! Not again!"

"Keith..."

"Everyone to the front deck immediately!" Coran's voice echoed through the speaker.

Shiro tried to hold Keith's hand, but Keith held his hands close to his chest as the two of them headed for the front deck.

 

In front of the castle was a Galra ship. The map before Allura blinked. This was a Marmora ship. Just then, the power went out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I must stress the OPEN RELATIONSHIPS tag. So, in case any of you are confused (understable if you are), there are main pairings, but everyone is pretty open to spending intimate moments with each other. So, no, Lance is not trying to get Shiro to cheat on Keith because what they're doing isn't cheating. Keith is fully aware that they can be close when he's not around and he's given prior consent to it (same goes for everyone else). If you need any more clarification, please don't hesitate to ask.
> 
> I gotta admit, though, was not expecting the chapter to end up this way. I was planning on having them meet Ulaz and the Blade of Marmora, but as I wrote things did not flow that way. I promise, however, that the Marmora will be more focused in the next one and we'll also find out who Lance's main love interest will be. 
> 
> Remember that you can always drop by my Tumblr [@circustalia](http://circustalia.tumblr.com/) in case you wanna talk more Gem AU stuff over there.


	27. Invasion Turned Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins discover whose aboard their ship, much to Allura's displeasure. A deal is worked out, although there is still so much to find out.

"I knew better than to trust them," Allura clenched a fist.

"Allura, relax," Shiro spoke softly. "They probably considered the castle suspicious."

"You better hope you're right."

Doors were heard being pried open. Rover came flying, with light coming out of his eye. He hovered next to Pidge.

"Maybe if we can get the power back on, we might be able to go after whoever's aboard the ship," Pidge thought. "I'll go see if I can turn it back on."

"Not alone you're not," Shiro said. 

"Then I'll go with her," Keith volunteered. "If we come across the intruders, I might be able to apprehend them."

"Good idea. Be careful, you two."

 

Rover guided the two of them down the hall, scanning for any electrical boxes. Pidge and Keith had their guards up, keeping their senses sharp in case the intruder appeared. A box was finally found, to which Pidge immediately opened.

"Can I count on you to take down our guest if they get in the way of my tinkering?" she asked.

Keith summoned his sword. "Don't worry. I got you covered."

With an affirmative nod, Pidge quickly begun work. Although it only took her mere minutes, Keith wished she would get done faster. Granted, he and her would have the upper hand considering they know the castle better, but neither were aware of who exactly they would be up against. They could fight an amethyst or a jasper, which would put them at a disadvantage in terms of strength. He hoped it was a ruby, although rubies rarely act alone (Galra ones anyway). The lights flickered before being turned on for good. Everything was still clear. Pidge got to her feet and she and Keith walked side by side to get back to the others.

However, before they could reach the main deck, they heard footsteps. The two of them hid behind a wall, Keith keeping a protective hand over Pidge. He looked slightly to see two masked people walking along. He wordlessly looked to her, shaking his weapon to tell her to summon hers. After Pidge did, they heard a blast coming from down the hall. 

"Freeze!" 

It was Lance, holding his sniper over his shoulder and shooting at the two masked intruders. One of them summoned his own gun and shot back at Lance. Lance dodged and shot straight at the intruder's hands, causing his weapon to ricochet off his hands. 

"Haha, nice!"

His victory was short lived when the other masked intruder was well on his way to tripping Lance off his feet. 

"Lance!" Keith and Pidge cried out. They looked at one another and nodded, holding each other's hands and forming Kidge. 

Kidge got out their katar and sword, throwing the two weapons in the air until they became a giant shuriken. The shuriken was quickly thrown across the area, hitting both masked men and causing them to fall. Kidge grabbed their shuriken as everyone went out to check up on them.

"What is going on out here?" Shiro asked. 

Before anyone could answer, the masks the men wore broke apart. Shiro's eyes widened when he recognized one of them in particular. An older jade with a tuft of white hair and his gem on his chin. 

"Ulaz," Shiro said. 

Ulaz looked up at Shiro. "Shiro?"

The other masked person narrowed his gaze at the group. He was a black star diopside, just like Shiro, and even sharing an eerily similar appearance to him as well. As he got up, it was clear that his gem laid on his chest, and he was ready to summon his weapon again until Ulaz stopped him.

"No," he told the other diopside, "they are not our enemies."

 

 

"And what made you think that it was in any way a good idea to sneak aboard my ship?!"

The jade and the diopside with a head full of black hair had their hands tied up behind them as they were seated. Shiro gave an apologetic gaze to Ulaz, who simply nodded before answering.

"I apologize for our intrusion," Ulaz began, "I sincerely believed Shiro was hurt."

"And I'd say he was right in his assumptions," the diopside next to him seethed. "If I saw any gem with an Altean, I'd think that gem was in danger, too."

"You have no right to say that about me!" Allura turned her rage to him. "Your kind were the ones that overtook Altea to fit your needs."

"After you destroyed our original Homeworld!"

"Sven, please," Ulaz scolded. "Forgive him, he's still new to the Blade of Marmora."

Shiro nearly gasped. "Were you headed for New Daibazaal?"

The jade nodded. He gestured his head to Sven. "I needed to take him to meet Kolivan and the others. To prove his worth and loyalty to the Blade."

"As if the Blade have done any good in this war," Allura scoffed. "Give me one good reason we shouldn't bubble you away right now."

"Allura," Shiro was about to plead for their case until Ulaz answered her.

"Because we want Zarkon Diamond gotten rid of once and for all. His mistreatment of innocent planets, of his own gems, is not what I want others to know the Galra by. We are not monsters like him." He closed his eyes for a moment of thought. When he opened them, he continued. "We can ensure you safe passage to New Daibaazal."

"And how do you expect me to believe that?"

"Because if I could not guarantee that passage, I would not be out here with him."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with him? Aside from getting his butt whooped by me," Lance filed a nail with his thumb, "he looks like an ideal Galra diopside."

Sven turned his head away from them.

"He is....different from other black star diopsides. I picked him up under the guise of protection and mostly for show."

Allura looked back and forth between the Galra gems before catching a glimpse of Shiro, who still had pleading eyes. 

"Do you really trust them?" she asked him.

"I do," Shiro answered without hesitation.

She sighed. "Very well. Hunk untie them. You two may accompany us to New Daibaazal."

Ulaz bowed his head. "Thank you, Princess-"

"But you will be under constant surveillance within my castle." She looked out the window to see their ship. "You may bring your ship out once we are closer to Galra territory. Until then, one of you must fly it inside the castle garage with a paladin. You won't dare to fly off."

"I understand, Princess. I supposed it would make sense for me to pilot the ship in." Once Ulaz and Sven were untied from their restraints, he faced Shiro. "Shiro, would you like to keep your eye on me?"

Shiro smiled. "Of course."

"Wait," Sven cried out. "I don't want to be left alone with these Alteans."

Allura nearly scoffed until Coran stepped in.

"While I have no doubt that the Princess nor I could take you on if you try any funny business, you, too, will have a paladin to watch over you."

Sven pouted. "It doesn't make me feel better, but I guess it could be worse."

"So...who's gonna be stuck watching this guy?" Lance asked.

"Well, Lance, seeing as how you were the one that started the mess with them, I think it should only be fair that you do it," Kidge responded.

Lance groaned. "Seriously?! Why me?!" He threw his arms out. "You're the ones that actually started it!"

"Aw, is it too much for you?" Kidge put their hands on their knees and smiled sadistically as they tilted their head. 

"NO!" Lance got next to Sven, completely changing his demeanor. "I guess if I have to. After all, I was the one who took him down with my amazing sharpshooting skills. They don't call me 'sharpshooter' for nothing!"

"And who calls you sharpshooter?" Kidge raised an eyebrow.

"Everyone, duh. Plus, you just did."

Kidge snarled resulting in Lance sticking his tongue out at them.

"Come on, Sven," he waved his hand, "I'll show you just how awesome my skills are in the training deck."

Sven stared down at the lapis lazuli. He resigned himself to his fate of being dragged around an enemy castle by a child.

 

Kidge followed Shiro and Ulaz down to the garage area where they would depart. Shiro was fully aware of their presence and asked Ulaz to wait a moment. He jogged up to them, although Kidge refused to look him in the eye.

"Kidge?"

"I-I just want to see that you leave safely."

He sighed. "I know the Keith part of you is still angry."

"Is not!" Their face grew red.

"But I also know both parts of you are concerned."

They huffed but blushed when Shiro grabbed both hands and held their gems tenderly.

"I'll be okay. I promise."

They rolled their eyes before giving them a quick peck on his gem. "Just be back." As Shiro turned, they mumbled, "And Keith might be waiting be waiting for you here."

Shiro smiled. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

Ulaz hovered the ship beneath the castle, carefully navigating it to the dock area. All they had to do now was wait for Allura to pull the ship up. Now that Ulaz no longer needed to concentrate, Shiro broke the silence.

"How," he glanced down at Ulaz, "how has everyone been?"

Ulaz's eyes were still locked on the screen but he answered, "We've managed. I once again must apologize for sneaking aboard your castle and for Sven's outbursts."

"Where did you meet Sven?"

"I met him while I was on a mission. He had the upperhand on me, but I talked him down and he listened to what I had to say."

"Just like that?"

Ulaz grinned. "There's a reason I was chosen to continue working above the surface."

The ship shook. The gravitational pull brought them closer to the dock. 

"Ulaz...I'm sorry."

Ulaz looked at Shiro in confusion. "Sorry? What for?"

Shiro turned his head away in shame, his white hair bouncing off. "I-," he swallowed, "I didn't go looking for you. For the others. Even after I found out I could form Voltron, I left all of you behind."

"You have the universe to protect. I would not expect you to drop a responsibility such as that even if it meant I got to see you again."

"No, that's," Shiro rubbed his real arm, "that's not the only reason."

"Oh?"

Shiro looked down at his prosthetic. "I forgot. I lost a good portion of my memory when taken by the Galra. When I was rescued by you."

The ship had already been brought inside the deck. Ulaz got up from his seat and placed a hand on Shiro's shoulder. 

"If you think I am angry over that, I am not." He shook his head. "You have suffered a great deal under Zarkon Diamond's authority. Even long before you were kidnapped, you always knew he could not get away with his plans. I do not know why you lost your memory or how, but your heart has always been in the right place." He dropped his arm. "Please do not fret over that. I'm glad you found me and I'm sure Kolivan and the others will be happy upon your arrival, too."

Shiro nodded. The two of them got off the ship together.

 

Just as Kidge said, Keith was there, waiting for them. 

"Told you I'd be back," Shiro said.

"Obviously," Keith retorted. "If you don't mind me asking, but what exactly is the Blade of Marmora? How did you come together? Why have you decided to fight Zarkon after the rebellion?"

"Sorry," Shiro addressed Ulaz, "I never really told my team more than the bare minimum of details."

Ulaz rubbed his gem. "Hm....I suppose it would be best to start from the beginning. 

"The civil war had been coming to a close. Unbeknownst to both sides, there were gems that sought to make a change in our society. However, there were those of us that were content with harvesting the life force of individual planets, under the belief that they were under our rule anyway. But because of our beliefs, we knew we would face scrutiny on both sides, so we remained hidden, convening in secrecy. Our mindsets truly changed, however, once Zarkon Diamond built New Daibaazal and began scouraging planets. We saw the downside of gem influence too late. To make matters worse, Zarkon Diamond became much more rigid, more controlling than ever before. It seemed as though any gem could be shattered for one misstep out of line. Thus, our organization began to hide under the surface of New Daibaazal. It wasn't very hard as kindergartens lack any surveillance after the gems emerge. Zarkon Diamond would rather use his resources for current projects. 

"As our meetings moved to the underground kindgergartens of New Daibaazal, we also discoverd that it was an ideal place for training. We sharpened our fighting skills there and then many of us sought out the tunnels as new homes."

"Why new homes?" Keith asked.

"There are many that have sought refuge from Zarkon Diamond's wrath for one reason or another. Some have fought back publicly prior to joining the Blade, some are considered defective beyond repair. Others have done acts that Zarkon would not approve of." He pointed to Keith. "Earlier you were fused with one of your comrades. Zarkon used to be lenient on different gem types fusing for battle. But ever since the establishment of New Daibaazal, he has enforced a strict no-fusing policy. Any caught breaking this rule are to be immediately sent for shattering."

"What?!"

Ulaz looked down. "The only exception to that rule is for same gems. But if same gem fusions are caught fusing for personal reasons, that, too, is reason for shattering."

"I can't believe it," Keith pushed his hair back. He nearly flinched when Shiro went over to him to gently brush his shoulder. He looked to his diopside and rested his head down on him.

"A good number of Blade members quite enjoy being fused, so you can imagine that many of us would not want a regime that would discard us as so." Ulaz returned his gaze to the red spinel and black star diopside. "However, we are aware of the damage the Galra have done to the galaxy. The Galra Empire has been a parasite to nearly every planet in this part of the galaxy. Those that are not dried up are used for labor and resources. We look down on those with life." Ulaz touched a nearby wall, his hand above the source of light. "We cannot do that anymore. We must fight for the living who cannot fight for themselves. And our best shot at doing that is by tearing apart the empire from the inside."

"I see," Keith said.

Ulaz shot Keith an understanding look. "If you have any further questions for me, I would be glad to answer them."

Keith shook his head. "Not right now. No."

"Then, I should be on my way to the main deck."

"Keith, would you like to come with us?"

Keith looked down at his gem. "I'll catch up with you in a bit."

Shiro wanted to say something, but opted to give him some space. He trailed behind Ulaz, leaving Keith to ponder on his own. Keith didn't know why, but something about Ulaz felt familiar. He decided to brush it off as Ulaz simply being a good person to seek advice from. But then why did talking to Ulaz feel easier than talking to any other gem? Any other lifeform? Why had he been so open to seeking answers from him? 


	28. The Sharpshooter Explains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Sven spend some time together where Lance tries to clear a few things up.

Lance shot all the targets that popped up with near perfection. Sven was slumped against the wall, watching the lapis lazuli fight like that. When the last target dropped down, Lance's weapon dissipated. Sven gave a slight nod.

"I must admit, I do not think I've seen a lapis lazuli fight like that."

Lance smirked. "I know. That's why they call me the team sharpshooter." He lifted his arms and posed as if he were still holding his sniper.

"Sharpshooter? Who calls you that?"

"Everyone, obviously," he shook his head before patting Sven on the shoulder. "You'll realize everyone's strenghts really quick. Keith's might be a little harder to recognize, but there's no denying that mullet-head knows how to wield a sword." His eyes started to light up. "And then there's Hunk who's like really strong and can stay in a bigger form longer than any of us, and Pidge is like the smart one of the group, I don't understand half the words she says. Sometimes I need Hunk to translate. And then Allura and Coran are pretty cool, especially for fleshlings."

Sven cocked an eyebrow. "Eh....you get along with an Altean?" 

Lance blinked. "Uh...yeah?" He crossed his arms. "What do you have against Alteans anyway?"

"Alteans are the ones who blew up Homeworld!" Sven tensed up. "They destroyed the original Daibaazal. My home." He exhaled. "I do not understand how Alteans not only survived for this long, but also found Voltron." He clicked his tongue. "And then that Allura has the nerve to doubt us when she stood by as Homeworld got blown up."

Lance raised his hands. "Hey, hey, relax." His gaze shifted to the side. "Look, I think we can all agree that we all got off on the wrong foot." He sighed. "I guess that was sort of my fault," he slumped his shoulders and dropped his hands. "And I'm sorry for that," he looked up the black star diopside's eyes. "But, I think if we all take the time to get to know each other, we might be able to clear up any misunderstandings." He gave an awkward smile. "I mean, if there's one thing I've learned about being with fleshlings it's that they all have a knack for change. It can take years for them to understand, but they get it eventually. And I think maybe the same can go for us."

The air between them started relaxing. Sven looked at the lapis lazuli in thought. While it was too early to put faith in all of this, he could sense genuine friendliness coming from the blue gem. Despite all the big talk from earlier, this Lance had yet to treat Sven with any sort of contempt. He didn't treat him like a prisoner. For Sven, that would be enough for now. 

Wanting to change the subject, Sven decided to question Lance about his origin.

"So, I realize you were not a part of the rebellion that took place, but I did not know the rebels built their own gems."

"Yeah, Hunk, Keith, and I were all created after finding a place in another galaxy. But then they realized there were some _unfortunate_ implications with how we could even be born so it wasn't until recently that gem production started up again, this time with less resources." He shapeshifted into Pidge, spreading his arms wide. "And that's how this one came to be! All small and cute!" He lifted the sides of his lips to give off a goofy smile with big, doe eyes.

Sven gave off a hard laugh. Lance looked ridiculous, but he didn't find his version of the peridot to be completely inaccurate. Or rather, inaccurate by thought. He was pretty sure he had seen the peridot earlier with dreary eyes as she typed away furiously on a computer. 

"Is there life in your galaxy?"

"Mhmm. There's all sorts of life there, but I think humans are the best ones. They're the most intelligent ones on their planet and they have the best ideas!"

"What kind of ideas do they have?"

Lance was about to explain until another idea occurred to him. "How about I show you?" He grabbed Sven by the wrist and dragged him away from the training deck.

 

Upon finding the castle to be their new home, Allura helped them feel like home by giving the paladins a room that was meant to be reminiscent of a standard Earth parlor. Lance took Sven to this parlor, where there were stacks of comic books, movies, CDs, video games and their systems, and other items that they had bought at the Earth shop at the space mall. Lance picked up one of the CD cases.

"This is more old school," he pointed out. "Most technology on Earth uses audio players that are much more convenient," he flipped the case over, skimming over its contents, "but I kinda like the old school feeling, you know?" He put the case back on the stack before pulling out a cartridge for Killbot Phantasm I. "This right here, is the real quality substance." He looked at it with loving eyes. "I have to thank Pidge for this one. Girl's got an eye for retro games." He let out a sigh. "Now if only she'd get to fixing the cross wires so we could play instead of trying to pick up livestream feed all the way out here."

Sven gave a small smile, but then a question came to mind.

"This Pidge-idot, is she lover or..."

"Huh?" Lance chuckled. "No, well, sort-of. It's really hard to explain, I doubt you'd wanna hear it from me."

Sven looked at Lance patiently. Lance sighed.

"Okay, but if you get lost or more confused, don't blame me." He held his hands up. "Alright, so the five of us and Allura are pretty open with one another. We've got each other's backs and we know we can turn to someone in our group when the going gets tough," he had two fingers up, one on each side. "However, there are two pairs that are a lot closer to each other and have a bond that isn't the same as the group one. Pidge has Hunk, and Shiro has Keith. Allura and I are the only ones that don't have someone that we hold up with as much significance." He began to grin. "Of course, I think Allura's just shy to tell me how she feels."

"So, are you expected to have someone as more than friend?"

Lance's face flushed. "Well, no. I mean, it'd be nice," he muttered that last part before raising his voice again, "but I have a lot of fleshling fans to please. And as you and I both know, fleshlings are mortal creatures and there are millions of them. I could never deny them their Lancey-Lance. I gotta make myself open, for their sake."

Sven chuckled. "Alright," he shook his head, trying to regain his composure, "but do you really not desire a partner? Not even more than one?"

Lance's gaze fell. He liked all of them. They were all so good and welcoming, but he knew that he wasn't the one or part of the one for any of them. And Allura, poor girl, probably had enough to deal with. She's more focused on bringing hope to the universe. None of them could pressure her into choosing them beyond the mutual bond. They all knew she would age and eventually come to an end like all life. Lance may have been able to handle that with his family on Earth, but he was afraid to know how he'd take it if it were her. He silently gulped.

"I'm fine," he said. "I know we can all count on each other regardless."

Sven nodded. 

"Oh, but you gotta listen to some Earth music," Lance took out his music player, configuring the settings before setting it down on a table. Music blasted from the player, Lance dancing smiling and dancing provocatively.

Sven laughed. "Is that how those on Earth dance?"

"Yeah," Lance looked over his shoulder, "but I've had years of mastering all sorts of dance moves to different forms of music." He lifted one of his legs before giving himself a little spin. "This just happens to be my favorite form of dancing."

"It looks very personal. So...you."

"Thanks." He turned off the music. "What about you? Do you know any dances?"

Sven blinked. "Uh...well," he scratched his chin, "I don't dance much. When I do, it's usually more formal."

"Wanna show me a few moves, then?"

"I don't know. It's more constrained unlike your free-spirited dancing."

Lance clasped his hands together. "Aw, c'mon. I've done military dancing before. I'm just curious."

Sven sighed. "Very well."

He straightened his back and shoulders. Lance couldn't help but notice the definition in his muscles. It looked really good on him. Sven kept a serious face on, one that did not have a grin. He marched in step, fists on his hips. His arms reached out before he crouched down and then stacked them in front of him and then motioned them all around him. He jumped up, hands on his side again.

"And from there, depending on how many other diopsides are with me, I would take my place in the formation."

Lance felt a bit disappointed that there wasn't more to it that showed off Sven's body, but he did appreciate the arm work. 

"You weren't kidding about the formality thing," he whistled. "I guess I would have stepped out of line, huh?"

"I suppose that would depend on your partner." 

"What if you were my partner?"

"Huh?" Sven's eyes widened.

Lance's smile dropped. "Oh, shoot," he smacked his forehead, "I forgot that Ulaz said you were new to this whole rebel thing. You probably think fusing between different types of gems is weird still."

Sven shook his head. "No, it is not," he rubbed his lips. "Where I'm stationed, fusing is a bit more lenient."

"Seriously?"

"I mean, on official business it is not encouraged unless absolutely necessary, but," Sven shook his head. "Sorry, the point is, I am not all that weirded out."

"Huh, I thought Galra protocol was a lot more strict about fusing."

"It is, but....the one in charge of my station is not so much."

Lance's smile returned. "Oh, maybe this boss of yours could join the cause, then."

"I don't," he shifted his glance to the side, "I don't think that is possible."

"Why not?"

Before Sven could explain, there was an annoucement over the intercom.

"Paladins to the main deck immediately!" Coran's voice cried out.

 

Once everyone was on the main deck, Ulaz spoke up first. 

"New Daibaazal isn't far from here," he explained. "But we cannot go near the planet on this castle. Now is the best time to enter our ship."

"But we can't just leave the castle here unattended," Hunk interjected. "Shouldn't someone stay in case something happens?"

"I can stay behind to make sure it's running," Coran offered. 

"But you might need protection," Shiro said. "Hunk, Pidge, I think it might be best if you two stayed here to protect Coran and the castle."

Hunk and Pidge smiled, with Pidge running into Hunk's arms. When he caught her and pulled her close, the two fused into Hidge. Hidge gave Shiro a thumbs up.

"You got it," their second mouth showed off their teeth.

"And I'll be coming to New Daibaazal with you," Allura said.

"Allura, are you sure?" Keith asked. "It could be dangerous and I'm not sure if that planet will be able to sustain fleshlings."

"I'm sure. I have to go, especially if it means meeting the leader of the Marmora. I have to make sure they can be trusted."

"Very well," Shiro said. "Pack up your essentials before we leave. Everyone else, to the ship."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to bring attention to this in the last chapter, but yes, Sven is Lance's love interest. I know this chapter was brief with their interactions, but this is only the beginning. There's so much I want to do with this project and Sven and Lance's relationship is one that I'm excited to explore. But stay in your seats for the next chapter!


	29. Trials and Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Ulaz and Sven's help, Shiro, Lance, Keith, and Allura find the Blade of Marmora. However, gaining their alliance is a lot more difficult than anticipated. With three of them having to take on trials to ensure the bond, they find that there's more to be discovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is. The latest and longest chapter by far. I hope you enjoy.

Ulaz piloted the ship slow and steady. The team bypassed a stream of Galra ships, none haulting them to stop. Allura kept looking out, anticipating an attack. Keith and Shiro, noticing how tense she was, each grabbed a hand and squeezed it assuringly. She looked behind her, the gems' expressions nonwavering, but their grip being tight and comforting. She squeezed them back. 

The ship broke through New Daibazaal's atmosphere. Lance ran to look. Arenas filled the skies, skyscrapers standing next to them. The bases of the cylinders and blocks couldn't be seen at all. Lights from teledoves streamed across every part of the architecture. 

"Beautiful, yes?" Sven looked out with him.

"We've built structures back on Earth, but never anything like this," Lance muttered.

"Just remember that they had to overtake Altea for this to happen," Allura glared out at the scene she couldn't recognize anymore.

Sven shot her a glare.

"She is right," Ulaz said, to the surprise of everyone. "While our technology is advanced, the Galra overran an innocent planet to accomodate us." He pressed a few buttons on the control panel before hovering the ship further down away from all the other ships. The further down they went, the darker it became.

"Uh, Ulaz, won't they be suspicious that a ship isn't landing in a docking area?" Lance questioned.

"Ships are sometimes sent down to the bases of these structures, usually for Bismuths to make sure the structures are still steady. As long as we aren't flying erratically, we'll be fine."

Nearly everyone held their breath as the ship continued to descend. The metallic structures eventually devolved into dirt. The dirt evolved into systems of tunnels and an infrastucture filled with barren holes. Ulaz made a few turns before landing in front of the largest opening. 

When he parked the ship, he turned off all communications and signals. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Allura asked.

"We can't risk a Homeworld gem reaching us," Ulaz clarified.

"And how do you expect us to contact the castle if something goes wrong?"

"Don't worry. We have our own separate communication systems."

"Yeah, Princess," Sven spat out as he brushed past her. 

Allura narrowed her eyes at him, but was quickly comforted by Keith and Shiro.

"Stay calm, Allura," Shiro said. "We know that if something goes wrong, you'll be able to make it."

Allura chuckled. "Are you sure you're not referring to yourself?"

"I'd normally agree with you," Keith playfully brushed her knuckle. "However, you don't have to worry about your physical form disappearing followed by the fear that someone will break your gem in the meantime."

"I would never let anyone shatter you," Allura stroked his arm.

"And we wouldn't let anything harm you," Shiro smiled.

"Did I seriously just miss out on some serious flirting from Shiro and Keith?" Lance practically waltzed over.

"We were not flirting," Keith denied. "We were just reassuring one another of our safety."

"Uh-huh, sure," Lance squinted his eyes at them. "I hope you know that I'm the one who specializes in words." He peered over to Allura with a grin. "Of course, you don't need to say anything to charm me."

Allura groaned. "I believe we have somewhere we need to be," she pushed him forward, causing him to pout. 

 

They stepped down to the surface. Ulaz illuminated his gem to guide the gems and Allura forward in the cavern. Lance cocked an eyebrow at the width of it compared to the other holes surrounding it. 

"They created this hole," Sven answered Lance's unspoken question. "No gem came out of this one in particular. A shame we had to get rid of it, but visiting one's kindergarten isn't very common."

"Really?" Lance trailed his fingers across the dirt. "Seems kind of sad. But I mean, I guess I didn't pop out of a creepy place like this."

Sven smiled at the lapis lazuli.

Keith kept his hands close to his chest. He couldn't find himself agreeing with Lance, despite the two of them coming from Earth. In fact, he was feeling a bit uncomfortable in such an area. A feeling he hadn't felt since they visited the planet with the abandoned facility overseeing the kindgergarten that had a piece of its loam that clearly been excavated. He shook his head, pushing such feelings aside. 

There was a shake on the ground. Ulaz raised his hand. Allura clenched her fist, getting a battle stance alongside Shiro, Keith, and Lance. Sven stayed close to Ulaz. There was another shake, this time with a clear stomp heard throughout. 

"Who enters?" a booming, low voice questioned.

"Ulaz Jade."

Sven illuminated his gem, too. "Sven Black Star Diopside."

"And them?" a silhoutte of a finger pointed at the newcomers.

Shiro stepped forward. "Shiro, Black Star Diopside."

"Shiro?" 

The source of the voice stepped into the light. He was a behemoth of a fusion, two gems on his forehead and a gem on the shoulder. His eyes could not be seen as they were covered by his bangs, but he had a small mouth on his face with a another mouth that revealed itself with sharp teeth as it hung open. He had one pair of massive arms lunged forward, with a pair of legs pressing forward and a set of four holding him down behind him. 

"Shiro, my friend, why are you here? You know the protocol for bringing in new members." His head tilted in Allura's direction as he sniffed the air. "And you brought a being made of flesh. Not even a half-gem. Kolivan will not be pleased."

Allura was about to speak, but was stopped when Shiro pulled her behind him. "I'm sorry, Brentera, but we must speak with the Blade. We've discovered how to take down Zarkon Diamond."

"And does she possess the weapon?"

"I do not," Allura pushed herself past Shiro. "But I do have the equipment to make it easier."

He let out a low gurgle. "I'm afraid we do not choose our allies lightly-"

"Neither do I," Allura interrupted. "But if working with your group somehow brings us closer to defeating Zarkon, then I do not get the luxury of turning away that opportunity."

Brentera tilted his head back. This time, his smaller mouth spoke, letting out a gentler, softer voice. "Is this everyone?"

"No," Shiro answered. "The rest of our team is guarding the place we reside in."

The fusion turned his body around. "Follow me." He used the glow on his shoulder to light the way.

Ulaz and Sven turned off their lights. Allura kept her hands to her side, fists clenched and looking around for anything to jump out. When Keith caught a glimpse of that, he really forced himself to stop thinking about he was feeling. He held her hand.

"Hey," he whispered, "we'll be alright."

"It's not us I'm worried about," she held his hand back.

"Well, if that's the case, then say the word and I'll charge in."

"You are not fighting them," Shiro hissed, shooting a glare at both of them over his shoulder.

The two of them looked away from each other, but when Shiro turned his head forward, the two of them gave one another a knowing nod.

 

At the end of a cavern was a space void of life. There were gadgets and materials lying around on the side with an arena in the center of everything. 

"This is what we came for?" Lance asked before he was quickly shushed by Keith, Allura, and Shiro. 

"Kolivan is not far," Brentera informed them. He stomped his hand down three times, a slight shake going throughout.  

Up from the air jumped an amethyst and a topaz with a tail (a half-gem, perhaps). They landed perfectly on their feet. The amethyst possessed a scar over his right discolored eye and a braid that came down his shoulder. His gaze was unwelcoming, narrowing his eyes at the group in front of him. His topaz friend looked on without much expression.

"Kolivan-" Shiro began until the amethyst cut him off.

"Why are you here?" 

Lance and Keith looked at each other. Lance leaned in on Keith. 

"Some welcoming so far."

Keith shushed him.

"I thought I told you not to return unless you found out how to take down Zarkon Diamond."

"And that I have," Shiro gestured to his group of friends. "We come here because we form the ultimate weapon that can put a stop the Galra Empire once and for all."

"And what is this weapon?"

"Voltron."

Although they could not see them, the group heard whispers echoing from the surrounding holes. 

"Who can form them?"

"The red spinel, Keith, the lapis lazuli, Lance, and myself. Two of our members are back at our base of operations, protecting it and one other resident."

"Leave."

Shiro nearly jumped.

"Excuse me?"

"Ulaz was a fool to bring you back."

Ulaz stepped forward. "Kolivan, they are serious."

"As am I." Kolivan linked his arms behind him. "Voltron is a rare fusion, one that has power equal to that of a diamond's. If you are a piece of that fusion, then you need to practice staying as them to get a better grip on that power."

"Kolivan, we have been training, even before we found out that we were a part of Voltron," Shiro tried to reason. "But we need the Blade's help to defeat Zarkon. We cannot do it alone."

"Then you have no business coming to us."

The scene grew quiet. 

"Eliminating Zarkon Diamond is your priority. None of us stand a chance against him, which is why our mission lies with destroying the Empire from within and giving aid when we deem it possible. You are aware of our numbers. How they change. The many that have sacrificed their lives for us," Kolivan gripped his wrist tightly. "To send more sacrifices for a mission that is not our own. That is not the way of the Blade."

"The way of the Blade has failed!" Allura cried out. "You are hiding yourselves down here while countless planets have bowed before the Galra, and that includes the very planet we're standing on right now!" She shot a finger down.

Kolivan loosened the grip on his wrist. "And who are you? A refugee?"

"I am Princess Allura of Altea. My father trusted the Galra and Zarkon Diamond betrayed him. If you were so passionate about the greater good of the universe, of taking the Empire from within, you would have done so before Altea turned into this," she spread her arms.

Kolivan faced down. With a blink, he returned his gaze back to them. 

"If our aid is what you desire, your skills are what we require. Shiro, Princess Allura, the red spinel and the lapis lazuli will face a series of trials. Should they pass, we will give you what you need."

"And if they fail?"

"You should know the answer to that."

The group looked to one another, each one giving a nod. When they turned to Allura, she simply gestured her head to Kolivan's direction. They agreed to partake in the trials.

* * *

They gathered around the arena at the center. Various Blade members were summoned, some being single-type gems, others being fusions. Instructions made it clear that it was fair game for any single-types to fuse in the middle of battle. Allura was allowed to choose one weapon, to which she picked up a staff among the table of available weaponry. Keith and Lance were granted permission to fuse, but should they unfuse they would be forbidden to fuse again for the rest of the trials. The two decided to it would be best to try out taking down the Blade members individually first and save their fusion for when things get heated. Their goal was to stop the hordes. The plan was to destroy the physical forms of as many gems as possible (in the case of half-gems, they would need to be knocked out).  

When the first set of fighters came out, Keith went in head first.

"Keith, wait!" Lance called out.

Keith summoned his sword, blazing it on fire as he slashed through the gems' bodies. More of them appeared, Lance sighing as he summoned his sniper and shot at the ones furthest from him. Allura used her staff to smack her opponents, sometimes even using it to pick up one body and hit it against a duo. Lance and Allura stood back to back. A fighter came flying up and was about to strike them down with a scythe in her hands before Keith shot fire from his blade against her. She fell down, her physical form vanishing.

"Why aren't you using your water?!" Keith barked. "It would be a lot easier if you used your element."

"Excuse me for trying to preserve energy, Keith! Not all of us are eternal flames like you!"

"Can you two fight against the real opponents here instead of each other?!" Allura swung her staff over their heads to hit a fusion that had been making its way towards them.

 

From atop a ship turned indoor headquarters, Kolivan, Antok, Shiro, Sven, and Ulaz oversaw the trials through a clear window. Sven silently whistled when he saw Lance take down a three-gem fusion with a single shot. 

"That lapis has a very clear precision."

"He's our sharpshooter, precision is his forte," Shiro remarked as he looked proudly down on them. The smile faded as the trials continued and there didn't appear to be a stop to the fighters coming out. Keith and Lance had yet to fuse while Allura was beginning to look worn out.

Kolivan kept watch of the trials without much emotion on his face. He was almost as emotionless as Antok. 

Ulaz, on the other hand, started to worry, as he couldn't bear to look out. His gaze fell near a control panel that was right by Kolivan. 

"Don't think about it, Ulaz," Kolivan scolded. "You know better than to help those who choose to take the trials."

"Kolivan, this is too much," Ulaz rebutted. "One of them isn't even a gem. I say they've proved their worth and now-"

"They have yet to do such a thing." 

The three of them fought in separate sanctions of the arena. Allura threw her staff in front of her before launching herself on it, spinning around and knocking down more opponents.

"Kolivan, I'm not going to ask that you go easy on them, but I do need to ask what it is you are looking for," Shiro stood next to the amethyst.

"The same thing I was looking for in you."

 

Four rubies came together and became one large ruby. Allura was about to strike their leg, but her staff was caught single-handedly. 

"I don't know about you, but I think we should fuse," Lance said.

"Agreed." Keith and Lance held hands, their bodies becoming one and Klance emerging from the light. Klance gave the ruby fusion an uppercut and caught Allura with one of his lower hands. 

"You okay?"

Allura patted dirt off herself. "Yes. Thank you." 

Klance summoned his blade gun. "Good. Because we got more coming, Princess."

With another horde of Blade members attacking them, Klance and Allura began to wonder how much longer it would go. The fights seemed to be endless. Klance's gaze fell on one of the holes across from them. It seemed to be the only place where Blade members weren't coming out. Klance picked up Allura and jumped up inside the hole. When they looked out, no other Blade members appeared. 

"Heh, they never said we had to fight the horde to stop them," Klance remarked with a grin.

"But are you certain that we've stopped them?" 

Klance held the blade gun close. "I doubt it. There has to be a reason this hole was vacant. And we're about to find out."

The two walked down the tunnel, Klance illuminating the way.

"I'm surprised you didn't want to keep fighting." Allura hurriedly tried catching up to his pace.

"Oh, it's not that I wanted to stop fighting. But if there's a machine or a device that's making them come after us, then I'd bust that up instead of the gems' holograms," he hit his lower right hand against his lower left palm. "Much more fun when you have collateral damage."

Allura didn't dare bring up the half-gems for fear of what he might say, but she was still impressed by how in-control Klance had been. As they ventured deeper into the tunnel, there was a bright purple light at the end. It appeared to be a computer room of sorts, with screens hung against the walls and machinery being implemented in the dirt. 

"This must be where they're giving orders," Allura said. "I think if we can log into this and stop the order, we'll pass."

Klance rolled his eyes. "Great. Of all the times to not have Pidge around, it just had to be when we were dealing with computers." He grumbled as he walked over to the keyboards. "Couldn't we just destroy this thing? It'd be a lot easier than manually disabling it."

"We need to know for sure if this is how they're getting their orders."

"We'd save time smashing it."

"And if it's not? This should at least tell us how to stop the hordes if nothing else."

Klance groaned even louder. "Fiiiiinnnnnnneeee." He pouted. "But I'm not figuring this tech stuff out."

"Oh, don't be such a baby," Allura moved over, hovering her fingers over the keyboard. "This shouldn't be too hard. I think." She pressed a few buttons, but nothing of importance stuck out. The more she kept typing, the more she was inclined to feel as though she should take Klance up on his offer to destroy the machine. But she pressed forward. From the corner of her eye, there was something sticking out from underneath one of the machines. It appeared dried up, withered. She could only imagine what it could have been. Her mind immediately went to when she was a child, picking flowers for her father in the fields and placing them on his ear. The bright pink flower, so vibrant and smelling so luscious. The fragrance of it still fresh in her memory. But this withered thing had no fragrance. There was nothing left on this planet that allowed her to recognize it as Altea. She kept her focus on the screen.

At last, there were files for them to rummage through. They tried searching up commands. Nothing. Simulation? Nothing. Battle? Only files on past historical battles. 

"Ugh, this is getting us nowhere," Klance complained. "We should just go back and claim that us coming in here stopped them from attacking us."

As Klance clicked through the files, Allura had an idea.

"Actually, what if we took these files?"

"What?"

"We don't know for sure if the Blade intends to work alongside us. If coming in here was really all it took, we would have heard something by now. But that wasn't the case. Luckily for us," she waved her hand to the screen, "they've gathered information we could use. They aren't going to use it, so we might as well."

"But we don't have anything to save it on."

"Maybe not, but as long as we remember the general plan, we should be fine."

"Alright. Now how do we determine what's worth remembering?"

Allura clicked through the files. Most of them were about bases that were much farther away from what they have explored in the universe, so those would be out. There were repeats of items that they had already gotten information on based on that abandoned Diamond base, including the Looking Glass. However, one of the files that was from that base was labelled "Experiments."

"Wait," Klance's eyes widened. "Go back to that last one."

"This?" Allura opened it up. On screen was a list of tests and subject numbers. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"I don't know. But I figured, we might as well find out what was really going on that base, right?"

Allura glanced at him suspiciously, but scrolled through it for his sake. The list had notes aside each subject number. From the looks of it, it seemed to be another site for Zarkon Diamond to test the corruption process. For his stance, there shouldn't have been any flaws. Each gem subjected to the song was corrupted as expected. However, the stranger part came further down the list, where now gems subjected to corruption were being corrupted before being born.

"How is that even possible?" Allura stared at the screen in disbelief.

"Why would Zarkon want to corrupt gems before they emerge?" Klance urged Allura to keep scrolling, hoping to find something of use. 

When they reached the bottom of the list, the final subject was circled. This subject did not have any results. There was an asterisk next to the circle. When Allura clicked on it, a separate set of notes appeared. It didn't seem to be written by any official personnel. These weren't notes. It was a log report. 

_Extracted Red Spinel Facet 4 Cut 3XK prior to infusion of Galra Code and exposure to rhythmic tube._

_Initially believed gem to not make the extraction, but seems to still be developing, even without a planet to retrieve nutrients from._

_Appears to be able to grow with substitute soil from Meritz._

_Enemy fighters followed my trail. Forced to launch cockpit carrying Red Spinel away from the attack._

_Coordinates were set to the forbidden side of the universe._

"Forbidden side? I doubt the Galra have had a forbidden side," Allura looked on at the screen, trying to make sense of it.

"Not unless they're referring to where the rebels were sent to," Klance looked down at the backside of his upper right hand. "I remember. Keith didn't wake up on Earth. He....he was found."

"Klance?"

Klance's body broke apart, Keith and Lance falling on opposite sides of each other. 

"Keith!"

 

Before any more could be said, there was rumbling heard around them. The three of them quickly went out, where a number of Blade members had all been lining up and crouching at the entrance they had come from. 

"What is going on?" Allura demanded.

"Stay back," a Blade member told them. "The Galra have sent a surveyor to this place. Kolivan will have you commence your trials once the surveyor has been destroyed."

"But if it's just a surveyor, shouldn't it be easy to get rid of?" Lance asked.

"It's not a typical surveyor," another member informed. "If it recognizes your gem as 'wanted,' you will be destroyed."

"So then why are so many of you getting close to this thing?"

"This one is a lot stronger than the previous ones and we suspect that it may transfer its findings to Zarkon Diamond. We have to destroy it before it can eliminate us."

Keith motioned for Allura and Lance to follow him. They scurried to out to find a large mechanical eyeball in the sky, scanning rows of the kindergarten. Shiro, Sven, and Kolivan hid behind the ship. It was getting closer their level. Ulaz was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Ulaz?" Keith asked.

Shiro's arm glowed, readying himself for an attack. When he caught a glimpse of them, he hurriedly waved his other hand for them to take cover. Keith shook his head, but by that time, Kolivan summoned his weapon with Sven following right behind him. 

Sven took the lead, his hands ducked low. Kolivan jumped on top of them as Sven catapulted him upwards. Kolivan held a tight grip on his lance. Right as his lance touched the tip of the eye's surface, an outstretched slinky arm came out, instantly pushing Kolivan down on the dirt. Shiro ran in for the attack, using his arm to cut off the arm. In the meantime, Sven fired at the machine, but the eye's iris turned and was preparing to scan him. Ulaz jumped down from the level he was on, pushing Sven out of the way. The eye scanned him and didn't seem to recognize him as a threat as it hovered away from him and scanned other areas of the kindergarten. While it was distracted, Keith, Lance, and Allura checked on Kolivan.

"Kolivan, can you stand?" Shiro asked, holding Kolivan steadily.

Kolivan pushed himself up. "Yes." He looked out at the machine. "We need to destroy it before it ventures inside the tunnels." He growled lowly. "Unfortunately, it seems as though it can detect a wanted gem with even the slightest touch of their weapon. Well, if that weapon's not a firearm at least."

"Detecting gems," Allura pondered. "Do you know if it can detect organic life?"

"I'm not sure."

"I doubt it," Sven approached the group with Ulaz in tow. "Those things are designed to only attack gem life. Even if they did attach organic life, it would only be one that's partly organic."

"Half gems," Lance clarified.

Sven nodded.

"Then it won't detect me," Allura looked out as the surveyor was coming back. "I'll distract it."

"What? Allura, no," Shiro tried to convince her not to.

"I must." 

"Not alone, you're not," Lance chimed in. "If I can get to higher ground, I might be able to shoot at it while it's distracted with you."

"But then it'll immediately turn to you," Keith countered. "Unless another gem tries to attack it."

"And if it's focused on the both of you at once, it won't be able to notice me when I hit it with the staff," Allura gripped her weapon. 

The three of them left the ship. Before Shiro could stop them, Ulaz touched his shoulder.

"If they need us, we'll be there."

Shiro dropped his outstretched hand, a look of worry on his face.

 

Lance shapeshifted his legs to become longer so he could step on a higher platform. Keith stayed a distance behind the surveyor whilst Allura stood in front one of the holes. The surveyor continued to scan. Allura calmed herself, but her heart beat fast. When it's light scanned her, she stopped breathing as if that would determine the outcome of its decision. Before it could conclude that Allura was safe, Lance shot at it. The surveyor looked up, with Lance making a face at it before continuing to fire at it. It flew over to him, beginning to scan him when Keith flung his sword at it. Much like with Kolivan's lance, only a slight touch was enough for the surveyor to turn around and shoot another flying arm at him. 

Keith heated his body up that by the time the arm was closer to him, he released a wave of fire against it. The arm still clutched him down, but the machine was beginning to heat up. Lance used his sniper to shoot at the surveyor again. The surveyor had its iris face him, scanning him instead as Keith pressed his palm down its snaky limb. When the surveyor scanned Lance as an enemy it was about to fire when Allura ran and crammed her staff through the machine.

The machine was overheated at this point, making the full frontal attack all the more stronger. Allura's staff went straight through it. The surveyor broke apart and fell over. 

 

Kolivan, Ulaz, Sven, and Shiro all gathered around them. More Blade members followed suit, with Antok rushing to Kolivan's side. Antok grabbed a hold of Kolivan's hand with his own pair, his stoic eyes became haunted. Kolivan with a nod, squeezed Antoks hands back, reliving the topaz as he let the amethyst go. They all stared down at the damage and at the three warriors who defeated the Galra surveyor.

"You," Kolivan looked down on them. "You knew the risk you were taking when going in for that attack. One of you could have been destroyed. Two of you, as a matter of fact. We could have lost Voltron."

Allura and Keith were about to defend themselves, but Shiro shot them a pleading look for them to remain silent as Kolivan continued.

"But by risking your lives did you ensure the safety of all of us here."

The three were taken aback.

"You thought about the greater good of those here. Willing to ensure that the Galra never found us." Kolivan put a fist over his chest. "You have our allegiance."

Behind him, Antok repeated the gesture. Then Ulaz. Sven. And the rest of the Blade members.

 

The team gained a new ally. But none of them could forget what they saw in that computer. Clarification would be needed, but there deep down they knew the truth. 

Keith stood closer to Allura.

"Allura-"

"We can't hide it," Allura clasped her hands together. "We don't have to hide it."

Keith looked down. "Are you sure?"

"I am certain."

Keith couldn't look at her. But he didn't have to.

"You may have been meant for the Galra, but you are still my friend."

Keith's head perked up.

"Allura?"

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "Let's get back to the others first."

"Yeah, buddy," Lance slapped his arm playfully walking ahead of him. "I'm dying to tell Hidge and Coran about how we aced those trials with flying colors."

Keith felt lighter as everything continued on. He caught up to them, knowing that what happens next they would always stick together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I really wanted this to be longer than any before it because not only do we get a better look at the Blade of Marmora and show the dynamic between Keith, Allura and Lance, but we finally find out that Keith was originally made by the Galra *gasp*. I was actually going to make the ending of this chapter a bit more somber, but decided against it because if we're making a Steven Universe type AU, then we need to give a message of acceptance and moving past prejudices (totally not because I didn't like Allura's attitude toward him when she found out about his heritage in the actual canon, not at all ^^'). 
> 
> Anyway, I'm just glad I could get this out before Season 5 and I am so excited for that! Thank you for reading and look forward to more for this series.


	30. Faltering New Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the trials passed, it's time to move prepare for the final attack on Zarkon Diamond. However, Lance seems to be overselling himself to Sven, not realizing that now may not be the best time for that.

The Blade members were escorted to back to the castle ship. Coran and Hidge were pleased to see that the alliance went well, giving praises for a job well done. 

"What did you guys have to do to make it work?" Hidge asked.

"Well, they made Allura, Keith, and I go through some trials and with my leadership," Lance grinned as he pointed to himself, "we managed to pass."

Keith rolled his eyes. "I think you mean thanks to our teamwork."

"Whatever."

"Still, I'm glad you are all safe," Coran came in with a tablet in his hand. "While you were out, Hidge and I upgraded the castle as well as our communications." He pressed a button on the tablet. "You'll be able to hear back from the castle from farther distances and much more clearly."

"Thank you, Coran, Hidge," Allura nodded to the two. "It will make our upcoming missions all the more easier."

"So, now that we have the Blade with us, what do we do now?" Hidge scratched the side of their face.

"Our inside gems tell us that Zarkon Diamond has been experimenting with quintessence on himself," Kolivan explained. A hologram of Zarkon Diamond appeared, with changing bars of status on the side. "We don't know how much stronger it's making him, but we suspect that he'll be able to launch powerful attacks much easier."

"But doesn't he always use his powers to bring others down?"

The image changed. Zarkon Diamond still in the picture, but this time with smaller figures below him, his arm raised to have them fall to their knees, destroying most of them.

"Normally yes, however," the image then changed to him making that same blast to a planet, but the planet did not incinerate nor change much in appearance, "when it comes to launching attacks on planets, it requires much more time and energy for him to follow through. With the experiments he's performing on himself, it will become possible for him to shape planets the way he sees fit in a single blow without much effort."

"And we need to stop him before he can get to any planets," Shiro crossed his arms.

Ulaz turned to Allura. "May I?"

Allura nodded, signaling for Ulaz to go over to the screen and zoomed in on Zarkon's gem.

"I don't expect us to be capable of shattering a diamond, however," he tapped on the figure, Zarkon's physical form popping leaving only the diamond, "we should be able to get rid of his physical form. And once we do, he will be vulnerable and that is when we must bubble him away forever."

"How do you expect us to do that?" Allura asked.

Ulaz then brought out an illustrated list of materials, each with a line connecting to various types of gems. 

"We have done research on weapons that have typically been used in combat by gems for gems. If we can forge Voltron's weapons with the materials listed here, then Voltron will be left with enough power to cut the physical form of an army's worth in one hit."

"So, we just get the materials and become powerful enough to defeat Zarkon?" Keith analyzed the image.

"Not quite so," Kolivan cleared up. "Aside from the materials, we'd still need to urge him to show himself. Preferably something of value to him."

"And what could possibly be valuable to him?" Lance levitated water nearby and messed with its shape. "Unless we go out there as Voltron, there's nothing we have that would have him interested in coming out. Not to mention the army he'd most likely have on hand."

Shiro looked at the list of materials. He closed his eyes in thought. The materials to forge Voltron's weapons wouldn't serve as a threat to the diamond. Not unless they were powered by something he uses for his own power.

"Quintessence," Shiro opened his eyes. 

Everyone looked at him. He used the screen to display Zarkon again, this time bringing out the amount of quintessence he has at his disposal.

"Zarkon Diamond uses quintessence to give him more power. But that quintessence is limited. If we can steal his supply, he'd be forced to fight us using whatever he has on hand."

"And that would mean doom for us," Lance butted in.

"That would mean that he'd run out of power."

The room seemed to agree. 

"Wait, but that doesn't solve the army he'd have on hand," Hidge pointed out, biting their thumb.

"We won't have to worry about his army," Shiro pointed out. "Zarkon may be a tyrant, but he isn't one to ask for help in a fight picked with him."

"And if he does bring an army, we can fight it," Allura gestured to herself and the Blade. "We can use the materials gathered for not only Voltron, but for our own weapons. We'd have enough power to get rid of their physical forms."

The screen changed to a map of the galaxy, certain areas being pinned by Antok.

"This is where Zarkon's highest production of quintessence is at. Stealing it from there will cause Zarkon Diamond to notice."

 

And so, a plan was set in motion. One group would be in charge of retrieving the materials while the other focused on stealing the quintessence. Next was dividing who would go where.

Getting the materials would require the aide of those who can withstand sturdy, rocky terrains and asteroids while also having the means to cut them out of the ground. Kolivan, Keith, and Hunk would be going that way.

"Wait," Hidge stopped when Hunk was specifically named. "Don't you mean me?"

Shiro looked at the fusion apologetically. "I'm sorry, Hidge, but your halves are needed elsewhere. Keith and Kolivan need all the muscle they can get, and we're going to need Pidge to help us hack into the security systems."

Hidge got teary-eyed, holding Shiro's hands tight. "But, I don't wanna unfuse!"

Shiro sighed, tapping their cheek lightly. "I'll give you time to say goodbye."

Hidge became undone, Hunk and Pidge holding each other while the other roles were announced. Shiro, Pidge, Lance, and Sven would steal the quintessence. Antok, Allura, and Coran would search for a location that can withstand a battle between a diamond and Voltron. With everyone understanding what needed to be done, preparations were made.

Hunk and Pidge continued to squeeze one other, tears running down their faces as they nuzzled together. Antok gave Kolivan a hand in adjusting belts and carriers to the ship he would be taking, the two of them touching heads when they were done, the amethyst whispering sweet nothings to the topaz. Shiro and Keith had their own embrace, one that had Shiro kissing the top of Keith's head as he ran his fingers through his hair. Allura and Lance watched on from the side, Lance looking to Allura in concern.

"Are you sure you don't want one of us to be here with you?"

Allura nodded. "I'll be fine. I survived the trials, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did," Lance smiled. "I gotta admit, I never expected a fleshling to have so much endurance."

"You'd be surprised," Allura smirked. "You should get to your ship. They'll need you to be their watchful eye."

With that, everyone went their separate ways.

* * *

Shiro navigated the ship to the factories, Pidge by his side giving him the intel of said factories. Lance grew bored at his station, staring out at the countless stars they had flown by. To ease his boredom, he decided to walk around the ship for a bit, eventually coming across a sink area. He controlled water out of the hole and began to mimic the constellations with the liquid.

"Yoo-hoo," Sven's voice broke Lance's concentration, startling him as he dropped water on the floor.

"Eee," Lance turned around. "Oh, it's you."

"I never got to congratulate you on passing the trials," Sven smiled. "So, congratulations."

Lance leaned his body on the sink. "Well, ya know," he pressed a couple of fingers to his forehead, "I totally knew I could pass that test."

"Really? Even without flying?"

Lance moved his hand to his chin. "Yup."

"Why did you not use your wings anyway? You know they weren't forbidden to use."

A drop of water came out of the sinkhole. Lance nearly fumbled. 

"Uh, well," he tapped his fingers around the edge of the sink, "I knew the trial would have been super easy if I had flown. So, in order to properly test my resolve, I knew I had to give myself a handicap by not flying."

"To test your resolve?" Sven looked at the lapis lazuli in confusion. "Then, why not fly when the robot attacked? Would that not have made things easier?"

Another drop echoed in the room. "That, well," Lance pressed his fingers together, "I find that shapeshifting these bad boys is easier than exerting my energy into my wings," he tapped his thighs. 

There was no way the diopside would fall for such an obvious lie.

"Ah, I suppose everyone is different," Sven shrugged, having accepted said obvious lie. "Well, I suppose I should get back to my station. Maybe you can show off your wings another time," he patted Lance's shoulders before leaving.

Lance let out a sigh of relief once Sven was out of the room.

"Why did you lie to him?" Pidge's voice came from behind.

Lance nearly slipped in the puddle that was formed beneath him. He quickly clutched to the sink as he shot a look of discontent to Pidge.

"Is everyone secretly sneaky ninjas?!" he complained. 

"That doesn't answer my question," Pidge had a hand on her waist.

Lance looked away from her. "And why do you care?"

"Because I hate to see you making dumb choices," she replied. "You know none of us mind you pursuing someone of your own. But if you're going to do that, the least you can do is be honest with him, especially if you want something more with him."

"Who said I wanted something more with him?" Lance tried to deny. "You know me. I'm a lover to many, but I'm free as the streams that lead to the ocean full of fish, to be enjoyed by all and-"

Pidge looked up at him with a disapproving look, her arms crossed and face sullen.

"Fine, I may be interested in a little more than I normally am with anybody," he rolled his eyes. "But there's no way I want him to know that I'm a defect."

"Lance, you are not a defect. A lot of gems can't fly."

"But I was supposed to," his gaze fell down. "If Sven knew I came out without wings, he'd be really disappointed. Someone like him is already out of my league, and it doesn't help that I can't help out the team on aerial missions unless I'm fused with Shiro. I just," he slumped his shoulders, "I just want Sven to think I'm cool for a little while longer. At least until he finds someone else to impress him."

Pidge grabbed his hand. "He's not out of your league," she tugged at him until he looked at her. "Look, I know what it's like to feel like you aren't as useful as you can be. I've been there. But you need to be honest about that feeling, otherwise it'll be more difficult for you."

"I feel like you have it easier with Hunk as your partner," Lance pouted. "But I see what you're saying. Still, I don't know if I'm ready to tell him the truth."

"You will be."

Lance smiled. Then he realized. "Was that all you wanted to tell me?"

"Nah, I came here to tell you were here," she let go of his hand and walked back to the main deck. Lance followed behind her, thinking that maybe he could delay telling Sven about his lack of wings. Yeah, he could take his time in telling him. Right now, all they had to do was steal some quintessence and that doesn't require flying. How hard could it be?

* * *

Quartz soldiers chased them down the corridors as Sven and Lance made a run for it. Shiro was waiting somewhere on the dock, loading up whatever quintessence he could, while Pidge was still aboard the ship to disarm as much of the security and Galra ships as possible before they would leave. Lance had hoped that the ruby soldiers wouldn't see past his shapeshifted form as a Jasper, but Lance overestimated his longetivity to shapeshift. The two reached a broken corridor, the floor crumbling down to a pit whose end could not be seen. The guards were catching up to them. Lance forced himself to shapeshift into a bridge, urging Sven to walk over him.

"Should you really be shapeshifting at a time like this?" Sven asked, making as many shots as he could at the ceiling to see if he couldn't throw off the guards.

"Now is not the time to be asking questions," Lance's body was getting more sore than before. "I need you to cross me now!"

Sven gritted his teeth, but ran across the lapis lazuli bridge. Lance held his complaints, but a few moans escaped him. By the time Sven hopped off, Lance kept his clutch on Sven's side and went back to normal, pulling himself up. They managed to make a distance between themselves by the time the quartz soldiers reached that area. They were approaching the dock in the nick of time as Shiro loaded up the last of the quintessence on board. He hovered around the door where Pidge popped her head out to see the other two were reaching them. 

Before they can go inside, a large, rose quartz fusion came busting in, letting out a roar as they reached for Sven and Lance. Lance and Sven fired at them. One of their shots, however, hit a control panel that caused the whole dome to open up. The ship was beginning to get sucked in to space, only being held back by the wires and rope tying it down, Pidge nearly loosing her balance only to be caught by Shiro. Sven and Lance tried to hold on, the Rose Quartz growling at them as they dug their clawed hands deep in the floor. They stretched a hand out to grab them, but were stopped by another fusion, Shidge. Shidge flew down with the katar in hand to separate the rose quartz fusion from their friends. The ship was drifting away, the harness breaking away. Shidge put Sven and Lance over their shoulders and flew back to the opening of the ship. When they got on board, rope broke off only to be caught by the quartz fusion. The rose quartz fusion gave a menacing grin as they pulled the ship back to them. 

Lance summoned his sniper, being careful with his aim. He found the perfect target and shot at the quartz hand. The blast was harsh enough to make the quartz let go as the ship was flung into space. Shidge closed the door to the ship immediately as Sven had already rushed to the pilot's chair and started piloting them away from the factory that was blowing up in pieces.

 

As they flew back to the castle, Pidge had been seated on Shiro's lap, showing him something she found while hacking into the security systems. There had been files on the systems, showing records of another peridot that had recently been sent to the factory with a human and other alien prisoners to do a check on the quintessence holding units. 

"If they're still prisoners to the Galra, then we can narrow down their location easily," she commented, showing the profile picture of Matt and Samuel. "It'd be nice if we could find the Looking Glass to have a definitive mark on their location though," she frowned.

Shiro lifted her up, holding her close. "We'll find them, Pidge. I know your brother and father are out there and they're pulling through. They aren't known for giving up, just like you."

Pidge smiled as she let herself snuggle up closely to Shiro.

 

Meanwhile, Lance sat down on the floor, his legs and arms stretched out. He could feel his muscles pounding. He took a quick look at his gem, and was relieved to see that it was still intact. As he sighed in relief, Sven crouched next to him.

"That was a close call," Sven commented.

Lance put his head back. "Tell me about it. I just wanna get back to the castle and put ice all over me. I don't think I can shapeshift for a week."

"Do not get the wrong idea, but I do have to ask," Sven shifted himself so that he could be seated. "Why did you not use your wings then?"

Lance froze up. "Uh, I just," he forced himself to move his arms and legs close to him, "I didn't think about it at the time. I'm not very a fast thinker."

"I do not believe that," Sven replied. "That is why I find it strange that you chose not use your wings then. Might have been easier on your body."

Lance buried his head in his arms, only his eyes peeping out. "I guess you were bound to find out sooner or later," he squeezed himself tightly. "The truth is," he hesitated for a bit before continuing, "I....I can't fly."

Sven widened his eyes. "You...cannot fly?"

Lance sighed, shaking his head. "No. I can't make my own wings. Even if I shapeshift into a bird or a plane or something, I can't actually fly. The closest I can get to flying is if I get on my own hoverboard, but that takes up a lot of my power and shapeshifting wears me out easily and," Lance hit his forehead against his forearm. "Now you know. I'm sorry."

"Lance, why not tell me this sooner?"

Lance raised his head back up, looking at the black star diopside, and let his arms drop to his ankles. "Because I wanted you to think I was cool. I didn't know how you'd feel about working with a lapis that can't fly. I know you're on our side, but I don't know. I mean, you probably want someone that can fly alongside you. Everyone else has an excuse, but I don't. I should be able to fly, but I can't."

He looked away from him. This was too much. Why was he getting so worked up over this? Who was he kidding? Did he really think he could impress a black star diopside? He couldn't even impress the one that was already on the team. 

Sven grabbed his hand, encasing them in his own.

"I do not care about that."

Lance looked at him again. Sven's eyes were serious, but his face was soft.

"You don't?"

Sven shifted his gaze downward before looking at the lapis' blue eyes again. "No, I do not. You are already incredible as is. You have such good aim, you are a good team player, and you know how to make the best of situations. Besides," Sven brushed his fingers across his own gem, "I cannot fly either."

Lance blanched. "Wait, you can't fly?"

He shook his head as he lightly let out a chuckle. "I was rushed. Never had time to produce my wings."

"Wow," Lance oh-ed, "I never would've thought."

"That is not problem, is it?"

Lance stammered. "Um, uh, no, of course not," he got on his knees. "You're already perfect." 

Lance paused. He took his hand away from Sven's and covered his mouth. Did he really just say that? 

"I mean, uh, you're already a good ally and-"

Sven leaned in and kissed Lance's cheek. 

"You are perfect, too," Sven said softly, leaving Lance with his mouth opened. Sven closed his mouth for him before getting up and ruffling Lance's hair. "I'll get back to post. You try to relax."

Lance watched Sven walk back to his seat, checking the systems of the ship as if he just didn't make Lance's heart skip a beat. He was so glad Pidge was occupied with Shiro, otherwise she would never let him live this encounter down.

But it wasn't as if Lance wanted to forget what just happened, though. This was a moment Lance would replay in his mind for time to come.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the battle to stop Zarkon Diamond once and for all. Too bad no one said this battle would be easy. Or that this would be the last.

There was a colony whose resources had been used up. The planet was in pieces, although the pieces were still vast enough for someone to stand in. It's distance from the nearest working colony was far enough to put the team's minds at ease for a battle. Coran helped Shiro create the signal that would garner Zarkon Diamond's attention. Once it was set, it was only a matter of time before the diamond would appear with his forces. Allura and the Blade members turned to Kidge for help with crafting better weapons, even combining some of the fusion weapons for something greater. Lance couldn't help but look at them with contempt, not liking the smugness they gave off. As Kidge was ironing out a trident, they could feel Lance's gaze.

"Did you want your sniper enhance?" Kidge loudly asked in a tone that showed they were annoyed.

"Pfft, no. I'm just wondering how long you're gonna be here for," Lance laid on his back, tapping his foot.

"Well, I don't like to be watched while I work."

"Correction," Lance jumped up, making his way towards Kidge. "You don't like it when I watch you. I get it, baby. My stare is enough to make all creatures, organic or otherwise, focus on anything." He was about to put his arms around them, when they slapped him away with one of their hands.

"Stop it," Kidge complained. "Go bother someone else for a change."

"Alright, alright," Lance stepped away. "Just thought you needed a little Lancey love."

"Lancey silence is more like it."

"Aha! You do like calling me 'Lancey!'"

A piece of metal was thrown in his direction without Kidge making a turn. Shiro entered the room, not sure what was going on as Lance walked past him.

"Kidge," he called out.

They put their work down.

"Ah, Shiro. Did you want me to fix your arm?"

"No, I, uh, need you to unfuse so I can talk to Keith."

"Uh...," they looked down at their palms. "Okay," they shrugged before coming undone. Pidge looked at Keith with concern, but he ruffled her hair to let her know that it was alright. She left the room, giving Keith and Shiro some alone time.

"What's up?" Keith asked.

"Keith," Shiro looked at the red spinel. He knew the last thing he wanted to hear was a "if something happens" speech and Keith had already been adamant that nothing bad would happen to Shiro. So, instead, he pulled Keith into an embrace, holding him as tightly as he could. 

Keith was a bit perplexed to say the least, but he returned the hug anyway. He wanted to fuse with the black star diopside right then and there, but he knew that work had to be done, too. While hugging was something they do on a regular basis, there was something about this one that felt off. Almost as if Shiro was trying to warn him of something. Then again, they were about to face Zarkon. Who knew what would happen? Shiro was probably scared and if he was, then Keith had to be there for him. Keith looked up at him, increased his height a bit so he could reach Shiro's lips to give him a quick peck. Shiro always found it adorable how Keith would feel the need to shapeshift to reach him. 

* * *

Zarkon made preparations to face the gems that formed Voltron head on. He was accompanied by his pearl, Thace, to a chamber where his song was played on gems who needed a little reinforcement on their loyalty to the Empire. Inside was Haggar, who was most likely finishing up another one of her experiments, but it did not matter. 

"Thace, close the door," he ordered his pearl.

Haggar's eyes widened as she turned to face her diamond.

"My Diamond," she saluted, "I have been at work creating a weapon that will help you take down Voltron once and for all."

"Admirable work, Haggar. But it will take more than a weapon enhancement to get rid of them."

"Please tell me what you desire, My Diamond, and it shall be done."

Zarkon walked past her, entering the area where gems would stand to be corrupted. 

"Use me as you would one of your experiments."

Haggar gasped. "No, my Diamond!" Her long, white hair moved forward. "You cannot be serious."

Zarkon squinted his eyes at her. "I am. Now do it."

"But-"

"I need to ensure Voltron's defeat once and for all. Once I get rid of them, there will be no more foolishness in my Empire. Do you understand?"

Biting her lip, she nodded. "Very well, my Diamond. Let us commence."

Unbeknownst to them, Thace was taking in this information and sending it back to the Blade.

* * *

It was a broken terrain. The five paladins stood together as they awaited Zarkon's arrival. Their hands linked together. 

"Ready guys?" Shiro asked.

They all nodded.

With a deep breath, he said, "Let's do this."

Their bodies glowed, morphing into the behemoth stature that was Voltron. They looked up at the sky, clenching their fists. Not a moment too soon, Zarkon's ship landed before them, a long arm that had it's palm out. Out from it emerged Zarkon Diamond, wearing a cape around his body. They had been up against Zarkon Diamond before, so they had gotten over just how close in size they were to him. But there was something more off about him. Through their intercomm, they heard Kolivan's voice.

"Get out of there, now!"

But it was too late. Zarkon slipped his cape off and went in for the attack. He summoned a chained blade, tossing it right at them. Voltron immediately summoned their shield. However, Zarkon used his other hand to summon an axe and immediately flung it at the side that was left unguarded. Surprised, Voltron immediately summoned their steel wings and flew high. 

"Since when could he summon more than one weapon at a time? And a different one at that?" they asked themselves, only to have to use the shield again to deflect the chained blade that was coming straight for them.

In another surprise, Zarkon summoned his own steel wings and grabbed their foot, tossing them to the ground. Voltron immediately summoned a canon to start blasting at Zarkon Diamond, only for him to blast at them in return. Getting rid of the canon, they decided to go for a full frontal attack with the sword. But Zarkon Diamond would not let them get a scratch on him for he continued firing blasts at the fusion. Still, they attempted to get closer to him, firing up their robotic arm. The plan was to use the top arm that held the sword as a distraction for the robotic arm to hit the diamond where it hurt. As they swung at him, Zarkon Diamond lifted his own arm to stop the sword. When the blade touched him, it shattered. They immediately lowered their robot arm as they looked in shock. 

Zarkon Diamond reached for their neck, ice coming out of his grasp.

Voltron heated up their body enough to break free from him and to get in a kick against his stomach. Zarkon Diamond fell, but quickly got back up as he summoned another axe. He flew back up with Voltron using their katar to fight against him. However, a breath of fire came out of the diamond as he did what he could to make sure the fusion wouldn't touch him. Voltron backed away, only to get smacked by one of his wings, this smack coming with a power of electricity, shocking Voltron all over before they fell again. 

Zarkon Diamond landed only a few feet away from them, his wings folding behind him.

Voltron struggled to get up, their form becoming light before going back to their true form. 

"Keep it together," they whispered, pushing themselves up.

Their next weapon to summon was a sniper, which didn't do much to hurt the diamond. How could that be? Their weapons had been upgraded before coming there. It was fused with enough quintessence to have at least left a bruise on him. But Zarkon continued to approach them, a sword in his hand. In a fit of frustration, and a moment that lacked control from all five, Voltron threw the sniper right at him, doing nothing.

They tried to fly away, maybe think of a new strategy, only to be caught by a chain that Zarkon Diamond took out and thrashed even harder down on the ground. The distance between them was wider, but it made it all the more apparent that Zarkon Diamond was stronger. When the chain dissipated, Voltron was shaking, their hair dripping down past their shoulders and getting in their eyes. They couldn't hold it together much longer. They could feel themselves slipping.

And slip they did. Before their head could hit the terrain, they broke apart. Unconscious. Limp.

"Voltron!" Allura's voice called out through their intercomms. "Voltron, get up! Please!"

There was no response. 

Zarkon Diamond decided to fly straight for them. 

"Voltron," Allura's voice wavered for a moment. But when she spoke again, there was more fierceness to her tone. "Voltron, you have to get up! The universe depends on you! You need to survive! Survive for all of us who have aided you. Those who are in need of you. But most of all, survive for the ones that are in need of hope! You must!"

Shiro was the first to wake up. He looked around to see his teammates lying face down. He panted as he could see Zarkon approaching them. He looked down at his right arm, clenching his fist. 

"Guys," he said, "let's survive."

One by one, the paladins shook their head, looking up at Shiro. Although they were weary, they pushed themselves up. Getting in a circle, the five of them held each others hands tightly. Eyes closed, heads down, they allowed their bodies to turn into the light that would form Voltron again.

Zarkon Diamond stopped in his tracks. 

"Pitiful fusion," he held his sword out. "When will you realize you are no match for my power? You may have believed fusion aided you, but you're still nothing but weak gems. A mesh of useless weak gems, no less."

Voltron shook their head. "No, we're not." They summoned a new weapon. It wrapped around their shoulders, tucked underneath their armpits with controls extended for them to hold. Over their shoulders were sets of missiles. They pressed down on the weapons, sending the missiles straight for Zarkon Diamond. Thinking they wouldn't do anything to him, he let them come out, ready to attack until the missiles hit his feet. He was bombarded and he could feel the pain they struck on him. 

During the blasts, Voltron flew to Zarkon, giving him an undercut that sent him flying upwards. Zarkon Diamond immediately summoned his wings again, growling at the fusion. Voltron flew to him again, this time with their sword in hand. Zarkon used an axe this time to deflect the oncoming attack. However, Voltron kept at it. Zarkon got rid of his axe and instead stopped the blade with his bare hands, which had a powerful energy coming out of them. It once again went coursing through Voltron, but Voltron didn't let go. Sweat trickling down their forehead, they concentrated on the energy flowing through them and kept a handle on the sword and Zarkon Diamond. Then, with all the force they had, they redirected the energy back to Zarkon Diamond, who was having difficulty enduring the pain of it.

When Zarkon Diamond let go, Voltron could still feel the energy in them. As a last attempt to defeat Zarkon Diamond once and for all, they got their canon out and concentrated their energy on the blast to send straight for the diamond. Their body kept shaking and they yelled out in strained pain, frustration, and determination. With the blast came a pillar of light that encompassed the perimeter. It engulfed them, the diamond who screamed, and the whole broken planet.

 

From the castle, Allura and Coran could see that Zarkon's gem was alone. No physical hologram around it. But more importantly, they reached out to the paladins.

"Voltron, can you hear me?" Allura cried.

The Alteans and the Blade members waited in anticipation for them to respond. Every second felt like torture. That is, until Keith's voice was heard.

"Allura, we're alright," Keith said over the intercomm.

Everyone sighed in relief. 

"Don't worry, I'll be right down," Allura ran straight for a pod, with Ulaz and Sven following behind her. 

By the time they landed on the desolate colony, they had already seen Keith and Lance from a bird's eye view. Hopping out of the pod, they checked on the red spinel and lapis lazuli.

"Lance!" Sven cried. 

Lance shot him a smile and panted. "Not bad, huh?"

Sven smiled back at him. 

"Where are the others?" Ulaz asked.

Hunk had shapeshifted to a bigger size, carrying Pidge in his hand to get to them faster. When he reached them, he shrunk back down to his normal height, Pidge jumping off. 

"Okay, I don't know about you guys, but that was freaky," Hunk shook his hands.

"I'm surprised that worked," Pidge said. "I didn't think that was even possible."

"You made it possible," Sven complimented. "Cannot doubt the universe's greatest heroes."

"Heh, yeah," Lance scratched the back of his head.

Keith looked around and past everyone. His body was tense.

"Shiro," was all he said. He tapped the intercomm in his ear. "Shiro. Shiro!"

There wasn't a response. 

"Spread out, we have to find Shiro!" 

Everyone went in separate directions, sprinting and calling out Shiro's name. As they did so, they did not notice that the diamond was carried away by an aquamarine, who handed it over to Haggar, and thus the ship made it's escape.

 

When the team reconvened, they still had yet to find Shiro.

"Maybe he's on an asteroid nearby?" Hunk suggested.

"Let's hope so," Keith looked up at the sky. 

Sven's face grew dim. "If we cannot find a part of Voltron, how will we get by my Diamond now?"

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Sven, we just took him down. Zarkon Diamond's been taken care of."

"I said my Diamond," Sven put a hand over his gem. "Lotor Diamond."

Allura and the other gems except Ulaz had faces of shock.

* * *

Acxa returned from her mission in time for to be in audience for Narti's announcement. Narti's hand was rested on a prisoner, who looked up at the palanquin with glowing, emotionless eyes.

"My Diamond," the prisoner/Narti spoke, "it is time."

"Good," Lotor's voice spoke out. He stood up, parting the curtain that hid him. "Set a course for home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, this is not the end of Voltron Gems or the Voltron Gem AU. This is, however, a turning point in the AU. I promise you won't wait long for the next part of this AU to come out. 
> 
> So, I guess this would be a good time to give you guys a brief update. First, for those that recall, I am currently working on a novel. In fact, I very recently finished the first draft of said novel :D With that said, there is still a lot of work I need to put into it. But don't worry, I do have a few chapters for the next part of the Voltron Gem AU already written out. Therefore, you're all most likely going to be getting quite a few chapters uploaded either at once or in a very close matter of time. I know I've been excited about this next part of the AU ever since I first started writing about it. I hope you'll like it, too. 
> 
> If you ever want more details on what's going on with me, whether it be for my writing or you just wanna talk, then head on over to my Tumblr [@circustalia](http://circustalia.tumblr.com/). I promise, I don't bite. I may growl though. And then hug you. But you'll be fine.
> 
> For those that have made it this far, thank you so much for your readership. I hope you'll continue reading this silly little AU I made for fun and exploration. I'll see you guys in the next part.


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